US court suspends Biden vaccine mandate for businesses

A U.S. federal appeals court on Nov. 6 halted a vaccine mandate by President Joe Biden's administration that is intended to push millions of workers at businesses with more than 100 employees into getting COVID-19 shots.

The New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said that because petitioners "give cause to believe there are grave statutory and constitutional issues with the Mandate, the Mandate is hereby STAYED pending further action by this court."

The traditionally conservative court ordered the government to reply to the motion for a permanent injunction by 5:00 pm Monday.

Petitioners include five strongly Republican U.S. states - Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, Utah and Mississippi - as well as several private companies and religious groups.

If upheld, the suspension would represent a stunning setback to one of Biden's most far-reaching and high-impact efforts to secure the widespread immunization of American workers ahead of a winter when a resurgence of COVID-19 is expected.

There was no immediate reaction from the Biden administration.

But Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a conservative Republican who has opposed mask and vaccine mandates, applauded the decision in a post on Twitter.

"Emergency hearings will take place soon," he said. "We will have our day in court to strike down Biden's unconstitutional abuse of authority."

Vaccine mandates have a long history in the U.S. but have generally been issued by cities or states.

At issue here is the constitutionality of a U.S. president issuing such a sweeping nationwide mandate.

Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, among those filing suit to block the Biden mandate, said on Nov. 6 on CNN that the president had exceeded...