The Political Insider

A majority of Americans does not believe the federal government has the authority to mandate coronavirus vaccines.

The results come as the Biden administration has tried to implement a number of mandates, from federal contractors to private employers.

These findings come from a recent Rasmussen Reports survey.

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57% Of Americans Oppose

Those who participated in the survey were asked, “Federal courts have ruled against President Joe Biden’s policy of making COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for certain employees. Should the federal government have the power to make vaccination mandatory?”

57 percent, said “no,” believing that the government does not have such authority.

35 percent said “yes,” followed eight percent who said they were “not sure” the government had such power.

The Constitution does not listed vaccine mandates as an enumerated power of the government.

According to party, the vast majority of Republicans, 81 percent, said the government does not have such authority. 63 percent of independents agreed.

Not surprisingly, most Democrats, 59 percent, believe the government does, in fact, have the power to implement vaccine mandates. 

President Joe Biden announced in September that he would be implementing a mandate on businesses with 100 or more employees through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Months later, OSHA released the rule which has since been suspended due to litigation.

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OSHA Suspends Mandate For Now

OSHA’s website currently reads, “On November 12, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a motion to stay OSHA’s COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, published on November 5, 2021 (86 Fed. Reg. 61402) (“ETS”). The court ordered that OSHA “take no steps to implement or enforce” the ETS “until further court order.”

“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit now has jurisdiction over ETS challenges and DOL has filed a motion to lift the stay,” the Osha statement noted. “While OSHA remains confident in its authority to protect workers in emergencies, OSHA has suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the ETS pending future developments in the litigation.”

This poll was taken among 1,000 U.S. likely voters from December 1-2, 2021.