The Volokh Conspiracy

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White House Walks Back Biden Statement that National Vaccine Mandate Is Under Consideration

"A national vaccine requirement is not under consideration at this time. That’s where we are with that."

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That didn't take long. Yesterday, President Biden slipped that he has asked DOJ for an opinion about the validity of a national vaccine mandate. Today, the White House walked that statement back:

The White House is not presently considering a national requirement for the COVID-19 vaccine, principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Friday.

"A national vaccine requirement is not under consideration at this time. That's where we are with that," Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing.

Uh huh. Tell it to OLC.

I've started working on a longer piece about the statutory and constitutional arguments for a vaccine mandate with respect to 42 U.S.C. § 264. Stay tuned.

Update: In an interview, the CDC Director said that the administration was "looking" at vaccine mandate, but then issued a corrected tweet: