WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday voted to revoke President Biden’s mandate to vaccinate healthcare workers at federally funded facilities, a symbolic move orchestrated by Republicans who seek to use pandemic precautions against Democrats in this year’s midterm congressional elections.
In a Republican-imposed vote, the measure was passed 49 to 44 along party lines after six absent Democrats left the majority party short of the votes it needed to win. The measure almost certainly died in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives; The White House said Wednesday that even if it approves the House, Mr. Biden will veto it.
But Republicans have relished the opportunity to hit back at vaccination mandates across the country, eager to advance their argument that the Biden administration and Democrats have gone too far in their efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus.
The Supreme Court, which has prevented the Biden administration from enacting a much broader vaccination or testing mandate for large employers, said in January that the mandate for healthcare workers could remain in place. This includes workers in hospitals and other health care providers receiving funding through the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Vaccines have proven safe and effective in containing the spread of the coronavirus, and several medical experts said the mandates have successfully persuaded more people to get vaccinated.
But opponents of the mandate for medical workers cite concerns about a shortage of staff in hospitals, as well as a fear of punishment for workers who are on the front lines of the fight against the spread of the virus.
“This vaccination mandate is not about public health or science,” Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas who is a doctor, said in a Senate floor speech with a stethoscope around his neck. “The Biden administration’s mandate is to fulfill its desire to control every aspect of our lives. And this is a slap in the face for the hardworking men and women who never took a day off on the front lines of the fight against Covid-19.”
Updated
March 2, 2022 2:18 pm ET
A majority of Republicans who voted in favor of the measure made disclosure of their own vaccination status mandatory, stressing that their opposition was rooted in objections to the federal government’s undue influence. But the party has struggled to stop vaccine misinformation and skepticism within its ranks and to distinguish between opposition to vaccines and giving up on a federal mandate.
In December, two centrist Democrats joined Republicans in voting to end Mr. Biden’s mandate to vaccinate and test for large employers, though the House of Representatives did not pass the measure. And there have been signs in recent weeks that Democrats are worried about the political implications of being perceived as heavy-handed supporters of vaccine and mask mandates.
Democratic states and local governments have eased pandemic-related restrictions and urged voters to adjust to the presence of the virus in society. Ahead of a State of the Union address on Tuesday, the House of Representatives canceled a mask mandate that had been in place for more than a year.
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“We will never refuse to vaccinate more Americans,” Mr. Biden promised during a speech before a joint session of Congress. He urged lawmakers to “stop looking at Covid as a party dividing line” and “see it for what it is: a terrible disease.”
But ending the mandate to vaccinate healthcare workers was too far away for all of the Democrats in attendance Wednesday, including Senators John Tester of Montana and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, who both voted to revoke the mandate to vaccinate or test. for large companies.
“I think if you have hospitals with people who are carrying the coronavirus, it is counterproductive,” Mr. Tester said.
The backlash against a series of demands for American workers to get vaccinated to keep their jobs nearly derailed the Senate’s work on important funding legislation as Republican senators threatened to delay action to keep the government open on the issue.
On Wednesday, Mr. Marshall and his fellow Republicans used a once-little piece of legislation, the Congressional Review Act, to force the Democratic-controlled Senate to vote to end the mandate for healthcare workers, even though Democrats opposed the measure. The law allows Congress to overturn an ordinance with a simple majority vote in both houses without facing the threat of piracy in the Senate.