CNBC by Spencer Kimball 11/16/2021
Legal battle over Biden Covid vaccine mandate heads to federal appeals court with GOP-appointed majority
Key Points
• More than two dozen lawsuits challenging President Joe Biden’s vaccine and testing requirements were consolidated in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Tuesday.
• Former Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump appointed 11 of the 16 judges on the bench, while Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama appointed five.
• The Sixth Circuit will now decide whether to permanently halt the Biden administration policy.
A federal appeals court with a GOP-appointed majority will decide the fate of President Joe Biden’s vaccine and testing requirements for private businesses, casting further doubt on the survival of a policy the White House says is central to the fight against Covid-19.
More than two dozen lawsuits challenging the Biden policy were consolidated into one on Tuesday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Former Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump appointed 11 of the 16 judges on the bench, while former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama appointed five.
The case against the Biden administration’s policy will be heard before a three-judge panel, but it is widely expected to ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court.
“Once a panel of judges are selected, ordinarily at random, the first question they will have to address is whether to retain or dissolve the stay ordered by the Fifth Circuit,” David Vladeck, a professor of law at Georgetown University, told CNBC.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit delayed the vaccine and testing requirements while it reviews their legal standing. Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt, in an opinion issued Friday, said the policy was “fatally flawed” and raised serious constitutional concerns.
More:
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/16/biden-vaccine-mandate-legal-battle-heads-to-federal-appeals-court-with-gop-appointed-majority.html
