Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul called for the national COVID-19 emergency to come to an end in a new op-ed Nov. 17.
“Those who crave power to rule over their fellow man always seek to suspend the Constitution by declaring and perpetuating national emergencies,” Paul wrote in his opinion article for the Washington Examiner. “Even the president himself acknowledges what is plain to see for anyone willing to recognize what is in front of one’s face: We are learning to live with COVID and the vast majority of the public has moved on. Yet Biden refuses to acknowledge the time for emergency measures has long since ended.”
The Constitution is the guarantor of our liberties. So it should come as no surprise that those who crave power to rule over their fellow man always seek to suspend the Constitution by declaring and perpetuating national emergencies. https://t.co/f3QVSK8BGq
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) November 18, 2022
President Biden said “the pandemic is over” during a “60 Minutes” interview in September. The White House then back-tracked on Biden’s comments, saying no alterations were made in the administration’s COVID policy, according to Reuters.
Earlier in November, the White House said the president would veto a resolution by Republican Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall to end the emergency, Reuters reported. Marshall’s resolution passed the senate on a bipartisan 62-36 vote Nov. 16, according to Insider. (RELATED: Biden Admin To Extend Covid-19 Public Health Emergency Into April 2023)
A previous bill to end the national COVID emergency passed the Senate in March, when absences on the Democratic side enabled Republicans to pass it on a party line vote. The Biden administration issued a pledge to veto the bill if it ever reached Biden’s desk, calling it “a reckless and costly mistake” according to Politico.
The Biden administration has used the COVID emergency to defend its executive order forgiving $10,000 in student debt per borrower under the HEROES Act of 2003, Insider reported. Likewise, student debt loan payments have been paused five times since Biden took office under the emergency status, according to the outlet. Biden’s student debt forgiveness plan is now in jeopardy following a nationwide injunction by a federal judge, pending appeal.