On the same day Democratic President Joe Biden reiterated his administration will enforce a mandate that companies with at least 100 employees get workers vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested weekly, Ohio announced in court that it is fighting back.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, and two Ohio sheriffs said Thursday they have sued Biden and other officials over the mandate, which is set to be enforced for federal contractors starting Jan. 4.
Yost's office in a call said there will be a separate lawsuit challenging the other portion of the mandate for large companies.
"I’ve said it many times: The Biden administration may not do whatever it wants however it wants,” Yost said in a news release. “The Constitution lays out critical rules by which the executive branch must operate. Congress and the states have their own powers, which the administration can’t just take over because it wants to.”
The lawsuit, which is also joined in by Tennessee and Kentucky, is hinging on the argument that public safety is at risk if the mandate is in effect.
Yost argues that undocumented immigrants will be released if mandate goes into effect
For the Ohio attorney general, the concern he highlighted the most in his announcement is that undocumented immigrants detained by federal immigration authorities, or ICE, will be "released" if the mandate is in effect.
That's because county jails have federal contracts in order to house detainees, and the lawsuit argues that the vaccine mandate for federal contractors puts those contracts at risk.
"We have sheriffs that are going to lose a lot of talented deputies to this mandate, and they’ll ultimately give up their contracts to house ICE detainees rather than see that happen,” Yost said. “Forcing that kind of choice on people who dedicate their lives to keeping our communities safe creates a needless situation in which everyone loses.”
In that scenario, county jails would have to refuse to house detainees. Yost insinuated that could pose a danger to the community.
"None of us wants to find out,” Yost said of what would happen in that scenario.
But much of the argument brought forward by Ohio in the lawsuit, on behalf of the Seneca County and Geauga County sheriff's offices, focused little on ICE detainees.
Sheriffs claim they will lose staff if vaccine mandate is enforced
Instead, the ability to carry out other public safety functions conducted by law enforcement, such as operating jails, protecting courthouses and processing applications for handgun licenses, would be harmed as well, the suit said.
"If sheriffs experience a diminution in their ability to carry out these functions, the administration of justice in Ohio will suffer," the lawsuit said.
Both sheriff's offices said in the lawsuit that they will lose staff if they enforce the mandate. Furthermore, terminated employees can appeal to state courts and agencies, resulting in more state resources being used.
Other arguments against the mandate hinge on federal overreach. The suit says that police power to enforce mandate falls within the state level, and that Congress did not give Biden the authority to issue such a mandate.
It's not just Yost. Republicans nationwide have made clear their intent to challenge the mandate in court and elsewhere, and business groups like the Ohio Chamber of Commerce have also made their displeasure clear.
Titus Wu is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
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