President Joe Biden said Thursday that he would like to see states, companies, and schools mandate vaccines.
PBS White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor said that some people have pushed for vaccine mandates and asked if the president would like to see mandates in places like states, companies, and schools.
Biden said that he was trying to determine if the federal government could legally mandate vaccines, but he would like to see places move towards a mandate. (RELATED: House Imposes Mask Mandate Again With New CDC Guidance)
President Biden says he’d like to see states, companies, and schools “move in the direction” of mandating vaccines:
“It’s still a question whether the federal government can mandate the whole country. I don’t know that yet,” pic.twitter.com/KIIkqi35hY
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 29, 2021
“I’d like to see them continue to move in that direction,” Biden said. “And that’s why I pointed out, that’s why I asked the Justice Department to determine if they’re able to do that, legally.”
“And they can,” he continued. “Local communities can do that, local businesses can do that. It’s still a question whether the federal government can mandate the whole country. I don’t know that yet.”
Several places have already reinstated mask mandates in an attempt to control the spread of the Delta variant. Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Missouri and Los Angeles County have all begun requiring masks in indoor spaces regardless of vaccination status.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated their mask guidance and now recommends masks in some indoor settings and all K-12 schools regardless of vaccination status.