The Senate passed a resolution Wednesday to rebuke President Joe Biden's vaccine-or- testing mandate for private sector employers in a bipartisan rebuke of a key component of the White House's Covid 19 strategy.
The measure, which needed only a simple majority to advance, passed in a 52 -- 48 vote.
It was supported by every Republican and two moderate Democrats: Sen. Jon Tester of Montana and Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
I'm not crazy about mandates, Tester told NBC News before the vote, calling the federal requirements burdensome. The resolution was introduced by Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind. Biden was arguing that he had no authority to impose the requirements. Braun celebrated the Senate's vote on Wednesday evening.
This bipartisan vote is a clear message to the WhiteHouse: Back off, and stop this crazy federal overreach immediately, he tweeted.
Senate Republicans argue that the mandate is unconstitutional because they think vaccines are important. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told reporters Wednesday that they wanted to go off script for a second and emphasize how important the vaccine is, especially booster shots for the omicron variant. The mandate is going to backfire. The people that have not received the vaccine are not going to do it until the White House acknowledges natural immunity. The resolution is facing an uphill battle in the Democratic-controlled House. Republicans would need a lot of Democrats to join them in forcing a vote on the measure.
If the House were to pass the resolution, it would go to Biden's desk. The White House has signaled that Biden would veto the measure, which did not pass with a veto-proof majority in the Senate on Wednesday.
Biden unveiled his vaccine-or- testing mandate for businesses with at least 100 employees, as well as a vaccine requirement for federal contractors in an effort to increase the country's Covid 19 vaccination rate in September.
According to federal data, 76 percent of Americans age 5 and older have received at least one vaccine dose. The U.S. averaged about 1.8 million doses per day, according to the data released by NBC News.
Some judges said that the president may have exceeded his authority by imposing the requirements when federal courts have blocked enforcement of the vaccine mandates.
The president of the United States can't get into every company and pick and choose who he wants to hire and fire, said Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla.
Democrats have argued that GOP opposition to the mandate is driving anti-vaccine sentiment in some parts of the country, undermining the country's response to the Pandemic.
Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said he understands the power of his words in this place. When they come down to the floor and attack the vaccine mandate day after day, they know they are giving fuel to the fire of the anti-vaccine campaign. He went on to say that it is strange for GOP senators to state that there is no connection between the anti-vaccination campaign in this country and the ones that are every single day on the floor of the Senate talking about how dangerous it is to require people in this country get the vaccine.