CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Governor Mark Gordon’s office announced yesterday, Oct. 29 that Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill has joined a 1o state coalition that is filing a lawsuit against the Biden Administrations’ vaccine mandate for federal contractors and federally contracted employees.
The lawsuit takes issue with the Biden Administration’s use of federal procurement statutes to mandate vaccinations through Executive Order 14042. Missouri officials are leading the coalition.
“This vaccine mandate for federal contractors is a clear example of the extreme federal overreach that Wyoming must put an end to,” Governor Gordon said in a press release. “Today, as promised, we take action as a broad coalition of which General Hill is proud to be a part. We are committed to defend the interests of Wyoming’s people and protect them from further federal intrusion into our lives.”
The lawsuit incorporates twelve counts. The suit alleges that the Sept. 9, 2021, executive order violates the Tenth Amendment and federalism, violates the Procurement Act, violates the Administrative Procedures Act, and is an unconstitutional exercise of spending power.
Speaking about how the vaccine mandate violates the Procurement Act, the lawsuit states, “Far from increasing economy and efficiency in procurement, the contractor vaccine mandate will cause large-scale resignations of unvaccinated employees of federal contractors. These disruptive consequences will directly oppose both ‘economy’ and ‘efficiency’ of the marketplace.”
The lawsuit asks the court to declare the vaccine mandate unlawful and enjoin defendants from enforcing the vaccine mandate. Joining Wyoming and Missouri in the lawsuit are attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Wyoming has the second-lowest COVID-19 vaccination rate in the nation with about 43% of the population vaccinated. West Virginia is the least vaccinated state.
