COLUMBIA, S.C. — Republicans in the South Carolina House plan to meet as soon as they can to figure out how to fight back against President Joe Biden’s order that all larger businesses require their employees be vaccinated against COVID-19.
House Speaker Jay Lucas sent a letter to his Republican colleagues telling them it goes against every notion of privacy.
But Lucas says House Republicans need to respond in a way that is legal since they are out of session. Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey says he thinks Biden's order will be overturned before lawmakers could return. South Carolina is in the bottom 10 in the U.S. in percentage of fully vaccinated people at just under 45%.
The government's expansive new rules, announced by Biden Thursday, mandate that all employers with more than 100 workers require them to be vaccinated or test for the virus weekly, affecting about 80 million Americans. Biden also signed an executive order requiring vaccination for all employees of the executive branch and contractors who do business with the federal government.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster is opposed to the mandates. McMaster tweeted out "Rest assured, we will fight them to the gates of hell to protect the liberty and livelihood of every South Carolinian" about the mandate and other proposals from Democrats.
But when asked by reporters Friday about the threat by Republican governors to file lawsuits against the measure, Biden said "have at it."
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said he's reviewing the mandate and that "we must enforce the rule of law."