Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy joined Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s lawsuit against the Department of Defense regarding its coronavirus vaccination mandate.
Abbott first filed the lawsuit, which challenges Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s authority to mandate a vaccine for National Guard troops, earlier this month, and Dunleavy was listed with Abbott on an amended complaint filed Tuesday.
The lawsuit states that roughly 8% of Alaska’s Army and Air National Guard members remain unvaccinated while 90% of them have requested a religious or medical exemption, though none of them have been granted. Comparatively, roughly 220 Texas National Guard members have refused the vaccine “for either religious accommodation needs or otherwise,” and 40% of the Texas Army National Guard is unvaccinated. The deadline for Air Force National Guard members to get vaccinated was on Dec. 2, while Army National Guard members need to be vaccinated by June 30, 2022.
NAVY DISCHARGES OVER CORONAVIRUS VACCINE REFUSALS UP TO 45
The core battle at play is who has the ultimate authority over National Guard troops while they are under Title 32 of the U.S. Code. It details that the governor is the commander unless they are called up for federal duty, which would then put them under federal control.
The Pentagon has repeatedly said Austin had the authority to mandate it, and a judge agreed with them when Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt filed a lawsuit with the same legal argument months ago. A judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma ruled against Stitt’s claim that the Pentagon’s vaccine mandate overstepped its constitutional authority last month, and unvaccinated National Guard members were subsequently barred from further participation to drill.
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Other governors, such as Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, and Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, have spoken out against the mandate.
