House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced Tuesday evening that the Biden admin.’s COVID immunization mandate for the United States military will be repealed.
McCarthy’s statement comes as Democrats In the house are allegedly planning to defy President Biden by joining Republicans in repealing the mandate that armed service members receive the vaccine.
McCarthy stated in a statement, “The repeal of President Biden’s military COVID vaccine requirement is a triumph for our soldiers and for common sense. I told the president directly last week: it’s time to repeal the COVID vaccine requirement and rehire our military members.”
The House is anticipated to remove the mandate on Friday as part of the yearly defense policy bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
“While I celebrate the removal of this onerous mandate,” McCarthy stated, “the Biden government must go further. Unfortunately, the requirement has already had a severe impact on our military: the Army and Navy both fell short of their 2022 recruitment targets by thousands of military members. And, at the request of the Biden admin., the Defense Department fired 3,300 Marines, 1,800 soldiers, 1,800 sailors, and 900 airmen solely for refusing the COVID vaccine.”
McCarthy stated that the Biden administration’s choices have weakened the United States Armed Forces and that the administration must now take corrective action.
“Now that the mandate has expired, these warriors deserve justice. The Biden regime must update service records and not prevent any service member discharged solely for failing to take the COVID vaccine from re-enlisting,” McCarthy stated. “Make no mistake about it: this is a victory for our troops. But the real job comes in 28 days, when the incoming Republican majority in the House will strive to finally hold the Biden government responsible and support the men and women in uniform who have been unfairly persecuted by this Administration.”
Although the proposed National Defense Authorization Bill would repeal the COVID vaccine mandate for US military, it would not restore service members who had been discharged or had their benefits reduced because they refused to be inoculated against COVID.
Part of the new NDAA requires the Pentagon to develop a way to compensate military members who have been punished for refusing to be immunized.
President Biden and Secretary Of defense Lloyd Austin, according to National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, are opposed to eliminating the Defense Department’s immunization mandate.
“Secretary Austin has made it extremely clear that he opposes elimination of the vaccine requirement,” Kirby said, noting that Biden “continues to feel that all Americans, including members of the armed forces, must be immunized and boosted for COVID-19. Vaccines save lives, notably those of our service members.”
