Coronavirus
Posted by Charlie Kirk Staff - 1.01.22

Federal Judge Halts Biden Vaccine Mandates for Head Start in Another Court Win for Texas

Federal Judge Halts Biden Vaccine Mandates for Head Start in Another Court Win for Texas

Coronavirus
Posted by Charlie Kirk Staff - 1.01.22

The state of Texas continues to rack up legal wins against the Biden regime, the most recent coming on Friday.

State Attorney General Ken Paxton praised a ruling by U.S. District Judge James “Wesley” Hendrix of the U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas, a Trump appointee, who has blocked a Health and Human Services mandate for kids over two attending Head Start programs to wear a mask and for staffers and volunteers with the program to be fully vaccinated by the end of January, Fox News reported.

“The new rules issued last month require children over 2 in Head Start programs to wear masks, while the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is requiring staff, contractors and volunteers in the program to be vaccinated by the end of January,” the outlet noted.

Paxton, a Republican, took to Twitter to declare: “I just halted another illegal fed vax & mask mandate. Thanks to my suit(first of its kind in the nation), Prez Brandon is barred from using the Head Start Program to force vax & masks in TX—both of which this Admin embarrassingly admitted don’t stop Covid anyway! HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

“This is a win for the children of Texas for sure, given that parents should be making these decisions, not the Biden administration,” Paxton told Fox News.

“We didn’t think that was right,” Paxton said of the rules implemented by the Biden administration. “We thought that was a parental choice, not a Joe Biden choice, so we sued them, arguing that he didn’t have the authority – statutory or constitutional – to do this.”

“The agency’s rule requires Head Start staff to be vaccinated and near universal masking of children and adults,” Hendrix wrote in his ruling. “It is undisputed that an agency cannot act without congressional authorization. Thus, the question here is whether Congress authorized HHS to impose these requirements.”

When asked if he expects major pushback from political opponents, Paxton said, “I think parents are going to be glad they get to make the decision. This is a victory for freedom in America.”

“Hopefully, the Biden administration will lay down their sword and stop jabbing at parents and kids and just let this thing stand,” Paxton added. “I’m sure they won’t. … They think they should make the choice for these children and for these parents.”

In addition, the court also noted that it “concludes that there is a substantial likelihood that the mandates do not fit within the Head Start Act’s authorizing text, that HHS failed to follow the APA in promulgating the mandates and that the mandates are arbitrary and capricious,” and stated that it “preliminarily enjoins their enforcement in Texas.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, also a Republican, weighed in on the court’s decision as well in a tweet:

BREAKING: Texas just beat Biden again. Another of Biden’s vaccine & mask mandates was just halted by a federal judge in Texas. The Court writes: “It is undisputed that an agency cannot act without Congressional authorization.” That would apply to all of Biden’s orders.

Last week, 25 states announced they had filed suit against the Biden administration over the Head Start COVID mandates.

“Like all of his other unlawful attempts to impose medical decisions on Americans, Biden’s overreaching orders to mask two-year-olds and force vaccinate teachers in our underserved communities will cost jobs and impede child development,” Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said in a statement. “If enacted, Biden’s authoritarianism will cut funding, programs, and childcare that working families, single mothers, and elderly raising grandchildren rely on desperately.”

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