JUST IN: Trump-Appointed Judge Denies Request to Lift Stay on Biden Vaccine Mandate

(L) Doug Mills-Pool, Getty (R) Screenshot

Trump-appointed federal Judge Kurt Engelhardt denied a request by the Justice Department to lift the stay on President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate.

Last week, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay on Biden’s OSHA rule requiring businesses of 100 employees or more to mandate vaccines for their employees or undergo a testing and masking regime.

That panel included two judges — Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan and Judge Kurt Engelhardt — who were appointed by Trump, and one — Judge Edith Jones — who was appointed by Ronald Reagan.

On Friday, Engelhardt ruled on the Biden administration’s appeal:

Lawyers for the Justice and Labor departments filed a response Monday in which they said stopping the mandate from taking effect will only prolong the COVID-19 pandemic and would “cost dozens or even hundreds of lives per day.”

But the appeals court rejected that argument Friday. Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt wrote that the stay “is firmly in the public interest.”

“From economic uncertainty to workplace strife, the mere specter of the Mandate has contributed to untold economic upheaval in recent months,” Engelhardt wrote.

According to the Associated Press, “At least 27 states have filed legal challenges in at least six federal appeals courts after OSHA released its rules on Nov. 4. The federal government said in its court filings Monday that the cases should be consolidated and that one of the circuit courts where a legal challenge has been filed should be chosen at random on Nov. 16 to hear it.”

“Administration lawyers said there is no reason to keep the vaccine mandate on hold while the court where the cases ultimately land remains undetermined,” the AP reported.