Government nears potential shutdown as GOP aim at vaccine, testing mandates
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government on Wednesday teetered one step closer to a potential shutdown, as a number of Republicans seized on a fast-approaching fiscal deadline to mount fresh opposition to President Joe Biden’s vaccine and testing mandates.
The emerging conservative campaign quickly divided GOP lawmakers, enraged congressional Democrats and threatened to unravel days of delicate bipartisan talks on Capitol Hill, just three days before a current federal spending agreement is set to expire.
“We’re opposed to the mandate,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. “We don’t want the federal government to be able to fund them in any way shape or form.”
Under Biden’s directive, issued earlier this year, private businesses that employ more than 100 workers must require vaccines or implement a comprehensive testing strategy. The president has imposed similar policies targeting federal employees and military service members, hoping to bring to heel a pandemic that has already killed more than 780,000 Americans.
But Biden’s approach has drawn a slew of legal challenges still playing out in federal courts, while prompting a fierce, vocal reaction among Republicans on Capitol Hill, who see the mandate as unconstitutional. GOP lawmakers have launched repeated legislative salvos to try to defund or eliminate it, only to be stymied so far in the House and Senate, where they are outnumbered by Democrats.
Despite the long political odds, a group of 11 Republicans led by Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas issued its most recent threat in early November, promising at the time to use every tool at its disposal, including by holding up the next federal funding bill. Nearly a month later, some of those same GOP lawmakers on Wednesday signaled they are ready to carry out their ultimatum, raising the distinct possibility that the chamber might not be able to act in time to prevent a government shutdown.
“I think we should use the leverage we have to fight against what are illegal, unconstitutional and abusive mandates from a president and an administration that knows they are violating the law,” Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas told reporters.
The GOP opposition reflected conservatives’ still-intensifying push to turn the pandemic into a political cudgel, much as they have fought over the past year against masking requirements, social distancing restrictions and other public health policies. Their latest salvo came on the very day when the Biden administration announced the first known U.S. case of a new, concerning coronavirus variant knows as omicron.
The Republican push quickly drew sharp rebukes among Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York. Taking to the chamber floor to open the day’s debate, Schumer said the two sides are making “progress” in their talks - but he still lamented the possibility that Republicans might bring the government to a halt.