Appeals Court Hears Arguments On Vaccine Mandate For Federal Workers

AP: Vaccine Mandate For Federal Employees Awaits Court Ruling
A federal judge in Texas overstepped his authority when he blocked President Joe Biden’s requirement that all federal employees get vaccinated against COVID-19, an attorney for the administration told a federal appeals court panel Tuesday. Department of Justice lawyer Charles Scarborough noted that district judges in a dozen jurisdictions had rejected a challenge to the vaccine requirement for federal workers. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown, who was appointed to the District Court for the Southern District of Texas by President Donald Trump, issued a nationwide injunction against the requirement in January. (McGill, 3/8)

Politico: Biden Administration Makes Case To Save Vaccination Mandate For Federal Employees 
The Biden administration urged a circuit court panel Tuesday to revive the Covid-19 vaccination mandate for federal employees put on hold by a lower court judge earlier this year. “This is not something that’s outside the mainstream,” Justice Department attorney Charles Scarborough told members of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. ... However, attorney Trent McCotter, arguing on behalf of the group of federal workers who brought the legal challenge, said that Biden’s actions lack precedent and are beyond his unilateral authority. (Niedzwiadek, 3/8)

And more on vaccine mandates —

Louisville Courier Journal: Bill Would Ban Government, Colleges From Asking About COVID Vaccines
State and local governments and public colleges would be prohibited from requiring employees or students to disclose their COVID-19 vaccine status under a bill that cleared a [Kentucky] House committee Tuesday. Though House Bill 28 cleared the committee, it was amended from a previous version that would have extended such a ban to private employers, prohibiting businesses from inquiring about the vaccination status of their workers or customers. Filed by Rep. Savannah Maddox, R-Dry Ridge, HB 28 would ban state government, local governments and state colleges from forcing employees or applicants to disclose whether or not they have received any COVID-19 vaccine shots, or "take adverse action" against those who do not disclose their vaccine status. (Sonka, 3/8)

ABC News: GOP Sens. Cruz And Johnson Meet With 'People's Convoy' Truckers 
Trucker protesters against COVID vaccine mandates and restrictions met Tuesday with a pair of Republican lawmakers for two hours on Capitol Hill. Republican Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Ted Cruz of Texas spoke with a small group of protesters from "The People's Convoy," who said they won't end their now three-day long circuit along the D.C. beltway -- traveling around 55-60 miles per hour along the often congested corridors of Maryland and Virginia -- until they sit down with other members of Congress and their demands for the rollbacks of a national state of emergency and vaccine mandates are met. (Murray and Peterson, 3/8)

In other updates on pandemic restrictions —

AP: Idaho Governor: COVID-19 Disaster Declaration Ends In April
Idaho Gov. Brad Little says he will lift the state’s public health emergency disaster declaration on April 15, just over two years since it was put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic. ... The rate of new coronavirus cases has dropped significantly in Idaho over the past two weeks, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Still, one out of every 219 residents tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week, making the state second in the country for new cases per capita. (Boone, 3/8)

AP: Jury Trials, Shut Most Of 2 Years, Resume In New Orleans 
Jury trials resumed Monday in New Orleans, where they have been suspended for most of the past two years. But the process is slow. More than 12 trials were scheduled Monday, but several were rescheduled and only two had begun choosing juries, The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported. (3/8)