Nearly half of the Senate Republican caucus is threatening to block the annual defense authorization bill unless Congress agrees to abolish the military’s coronavirus vaccine mandate for troops and reinstate all those dismissed under the policy.
“The vaccination mandate has forced our nation’s young patriotic men and women to choose between their faith, their medical autonomy and their careers,” said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “At a time when the military is struggling to meet targets for recruitment, the administration is firing soldiers we invested in and trained.” Whether the senators opposing the vaccine mandates have enough numbers to block the authorization bill in the Senate remains unclear.
So far, no senior Senate Republican leaders have signed onto the plan. If no Democrats back the effort, the group will need 41 GOP votes to halt consideration of the NDAA. Officials from each of the military services have required all troops to receive a Covid-19 vaccination or risk dismissal from the armed forces, but the courts intervened when religious objectors to the vaccine argued their requests for waivers have not been dealt with fairly.