Vaxxed GOP Congresswoman Rips ‘Unconstitutional’ Biden Rule: ‘Encouraging But Not Mandating Is the Key’
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) sharply rebuked Covid vaccination requirements as “unconstitutional” on Saturday, while arguing that masking, vaccination, and other restrictions have not been sufficient in curbing the pandemic.
“Look, they’ve tried everything from restrictions to mandates, and they continue to push more vaccine mandates and mask mandates,” Malliotakis said. “I think it’s time for the administration to now turn to therapeutics and treatment.”
Malliotakis, whose district encompasses Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn, said she is vaccinated against Covid, but the government should “put that same focus and attention on therapeutics” as it did with the vaccine.
On Thursday, New York reported a record high number of new Covid cases in a single day, at almost 22,000. Hospitalizations have ticked upward in recent weeks but remain low compared to cases, state health department data shows.
“I think it’s clear that Covid is here to stay,” Malliotakis said. “And vaccination — which I am vaccinated and certainly reduces the level of the severity of the symptoms — I think that we need to now put that same focus and attention on therapeutics like the monoclonal antibodies, like ensuring that the FDA rapidly approves the treatments that are pending.”
The FDA issued an emergency authorization for the use of monoclonal antibody therapy in treating Covid. It also recently issued an emergency authorization of AstraZeneca’s Evusheld, a post-exposure preventative treatment.
The congresswoman went on to assail vaccination requirements, and claimed President Joe Biden‘s mandate requiring companies with a 100 or more employees to require vaccination or undergo weekly testing is unconstitutional.
A federal appeals court reinstated Biden’s order on Friday, after a lower court had blocked it. The issue is expected to head to the Supreme Court for a final decision.
“I believe that government should be encouraging the vaccination, but not mandating it and threatening to take away people’s livelihoods,” Malliotakis said. “Think about how extreme that is, to fire someone, take away their job. And particularly at a time right now where businesses all across the country are finding it difficult to find employees and retain them.”
“Work and produce is critically important for our survival,” she later added. “And if we continue to just not allow people who are able-bodied to come to work, that’s going to be a major issue. So I think again, encouraging but not mandating is the key here.”
Watch above, via Fox News
