Reactions to the Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers while blocking the Occupational Safety and Health Administration vaccine-or-test mandate of businesses with 100 or more employees dominated social media Thursday.
Those who praised the ruling focused on celebrating Americans’ constitutional rights and liberties being upheld.
Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz took to Facebook to say the OSHA mandate was never well founded in science or the law.
“America’s businesses should forget these mandates faster than Joe Biden forgets his daily schedule,” the Florida lawmaker said on Facebook while adding that he was disappointed in the court’s decision to uphold the mandate for healthcare workers.
Others praised former President Donald Trump’s influence.
“If you’re working for a woke company forcing you to get vaccinated even though you might have valid personal reasons not to (religious, medical, existing immunity, low risk) — you now have choices thanks to the wise ruling from SCOTUS,” lawyer and founder of the Center for American Liberty, Harmeet Dhillon, said on Twitter. ”Thank you 45 for half that SCOTUS majority.”
If you’re working for a woke company forcing you to get vaccinated even though you might have valid personal reasons not to (religious, medical, existing immunity, low risk) — you now have choices thanks to the wise ruling from SCOTUS. Thank you 45 for half that SCOTUS majority.
— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) January 13, 2022
Liz Wheeler, host of the Liz Wheeler Show podcast, praised the ruling and added the infamous anti-Biden meme chant in her tweet: “Let’s goooo Brandon!!!!!”
SCOTUS strikes down Biden’s OSHA vaccine mandate that would force employers with 100+ employees to mandate vaxx. Let’s goooo, Brandon!!!!!
— Liz Wheeler (@Liz_Wheeler) January 13, 2022
Another post drew attention to the similarity between the wording of the court’s decision and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s words that preceded the ruling.
Let’s compare the comments by @GovRonDeSantis on Nov. 4 on the OSHA mandate to what @SCOTUSblog said today. Don’t ever say our Governor doesn’t get it. pic.twitter.com/6JZn3jsTPg
— Kyle Lamb (@kylamb8) January 13, 2022
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted her disappointment, calling the Supreme Court “reckless” while praising it for the decision regarding healthcare workers.
Meanwhile, reckless Republican leaders in Congress and throughout the country continue to attack life-saving vaccines, fanning the flames of dangerous disinformation and trying to gut many of the precautions proven to save lives.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 13, 2022
Other reactions of frustration centered on the debate of bodily autonomy being applied to vaccines but not rape victims.
BIDEN STILL CALLING FOR TESTING AND VACCINE REQUIREMENTS AFTER SUPREME COURT STRIKES DOWN MANDATE
“SCOTUS today ruled that government *cannot* require you to wear a mask or get a vaccine that prevents mass death because of bodily autonomy,” human rights attorney and Sirius XM radio host Qasim Rashid said in a tweet. “But government *can* force a 12-year-old rape victim to carry to term because reasons.”
SCOTUS today ruled that government *cannot* require you to wear a mask or get a vaccine that prevents mass death because of bodily autonomy, but government *can* force a 12-year-old rape victim to carry to term because reasons. #ExpandTheCourt
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) January 13, 2022
Still others were grateful that the OSHA mandate was blocked but disappointed that the vaccine requirements for health workers were upheld.
The Babylon Bee, a satirical news site, pointed out the irony of healthcare workers being stripped of their personal decision-making power.
SCOTUS Rules Healthcare Workers Are The Only People Who Can’t Make Decisions About Their Own Health
https://t.co/mdkDNtiMtg— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) January 13, 2022
“SCOTUS Rules Healthcare Workers Are The Only People Who Can’t Make Decisions About Their Own Health,” the Babylon Bee wrote in a post on Twitter.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The conservative majority on the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to block the vaccine-or-test mandate for employees of big businesses, saying the secretary of the Labor Department “lacked authority to impose the mandate.”
The court added that the decision should be left up to Congress. Justices ruled 5-4 to keep the healthcare worker mandate, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh voting to keep it in place.
