White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain “said the quiet part out loud” when he retweeted a comment calling President Joe Biden’s Thursday vaccine mandate a “work-around,” Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz argued Friday.
Biden seeks to use the authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to mandate that all employers with more than 100 employees require their workers to either be vaccinated or take a weekly COVID-19 test. Republicans immediately stepped forward to call the order unconstitutional. Klain retweeted a tweet from NBC News anchor Stephanie Ruhle in which she stated that the order was a legal “work-around.”
“OSHA doing this vaxx mandate as an emergency workplace safety rule is the ultimate work-around for the federal govt to require vaccinations,” Ruhle tweeted.
When Klain retweeted the comment, Cruz remarked that the action was “foolish.”
Important.
Foolish RT from WH chief of staff. He said the quiet part out loud.
Biden admin knows it’s likely illegal (like the eviction moratorium) but they don’t care. https://t.co/AlfmYtuvhp
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 10, 2021
“Foolish RT from WH chief of staff. He said the quiet part out loud. Biden admin knows it’s likely illegal (like the eviction moratorium) but they don’t care,” Cruz tweeted.
Biden rejected the idea that getting vaccinated is an issue of personal freedom during his announcement of the mandate Thursday.
“This is not about freedom or personal choice, it’s about protecting yourself and those around you,” the president said. (RELATED: FLASHBACK: Biden Said ‘I Wouldn’t Demand [Vaccines] To Be Mandatory)
GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Thursday that the Republican National Committee (RNC) would sue the president as soon as the new rule went into effect. Numerous Republican-led states have said they will do the same.
“President Biden is now taking federal overreach to unheard of levels by dictating vaccine mandates for all private companies with over 100 people, federal contractors, and healthcare providers receiving federal dollars,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in a statement shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation. “I am reviewing his outrageous actions and will take all legal recourse to defend our state’s sovereignty and the rights of Arizonans to make the best healthcare decisions for themselves.”