Washington, DC – This week, Republicans continued their crusade to prolong the pandemic for political points. Republicans seemed to find new lows, whether it was their members on the Senate HELP committee embarrassing themselves by making baseless accusations against Dr. Anthony Fauci and perpetuating lies about the vaccine, or celebrating the Supreme Court’s decision to knock down OSHA’s test or vaccine requirements, an important tool in fighting to end this pandemic.
“Republicans need to be held accountable for their actions,” said Coronavirus War Room Director Nicole Haley. “The pandemic has lasted this long because of their actions and lies. The pandemic is good money for them – they can get their clips and fundraise off of them. The contrast could not be clearer as President Biden announces free masks, more free at-home tests, and more tests to schools. Republicans clearly don’t care whether or not people die in their pursuit of political power.”
As Cases Skyrocket, Gov. Ron DeSantis (FL) Didn’t Even Mention Coronavirus in His State of the State. In his annual State of the State speech, DeSantis failed to mention the words “coronavirus,” “pandemic,” or “vaccines,” even as his state is overrun with hospitalizations due to unvaccinated people falling ill with the virus. This came as he unveiled a budget proposal that is heavily supported by federal COVID-19 relief recovery dollars, even as he spars with the Biden administration on a weekly basis. He also said Florida would not comply with CMS’s mandatory vaccination requirements for healthcare workers, despite the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the requirement.
Sen. Rand Paul (KY) Deployed Baseless Attacks Against Dr. Anthony Fauci During a Senate Committee Hearing. Paul made the same baseless accusations he’s been making for years now. In response Dr. Fauci pointed out that Sen. Paul fundraises off of his attacks on Fauci, saying “you are making a catastrophic epidemic for your political game.” After the hearing, Paul proved his point by fundraising off of the exchange.
Gov. Greg Abbott (TX) Told Austin Businesses to Ignore the City’s COVID-19 Orders Designed to Prevent the Spread of Omicron. A spokesperson for the governor said any business was “within its legal rights to ignore this municipal order” due to Abbott’s harmful executive orders. Meanwhile, hospitals in Texas are facing high hospitalizations, staff shortages, and dwindling ICU beds.
Republicans Celebrated SCOTUS Blocking OSHA’s Vaccine or Test Requirement. In a tweet, Scalise called the ruling a “huge victory for freedom and hardworking Americans!” in a disgusting display of celebrating a ruling that will only cause more death and suffering, prolonging the pandemic and hurting workers around the country. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds joined in, calling it a “major victory.”
Rep. Warren Davidson Compared Vaccine Requirements to Nazi Germany. Davidson despicably compared vaccine cards to Nazi Germany in a tweet that is somehow still up and so heinously offensive his communications director resigned. It earned swift condemnation from pretty much everyone, and he was forced to apologize for offending people.
HOW REPUBLICANS ARE PROLONGING THE PANDEMIC
- Paying People Not To Get Vaccinated: Republican governors and legislators in Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Arkansas and Tennessee have changed their unemployment insurance rules to allow workers who are fired or quit over vaccine mandates to receive benefits. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has offered cash bonuses to unvaccinated police officers who quit or are fired from police forces in other states. CDC data shows that unvaccinated adults are nearly six times more likely to test positive for Covid-19 and 14 times more likely to die from the virus compared to vaccinated individuals.
- Refusing To Promote Booster Shots: Republican governors including Gov. DeSantis of Florida and Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma have been scornful or silent about booster shots that have been proven to provide significant protection against the Omicron variant. Asked whether he had received a booster shot, DeSantis demurred saying, “So, I’ve done whatever I did. The — the normal shot, and that at the end of the day is people’s individual decisions about what they want to do.” Oklahoma Governor Stitt announced that he has no plans to get boosted, telling a reporter, “I’m perfectly healthy.” Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee used their official Twitter account to spread false information, asking: “If the booster shots work, why don’t they work?” The tweet was later deleted. And even former president Trump was booed after telling a crowd that he got an additional dose of the vaccines he considers great achievements of his administration.
- Filing Lawsuits Against Vaccine Mandates: More than two dozen Republican attorneys general are waging war on vaccine and testing mandates on at least three fronts.
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- At least 26 states have filed suit against OSHA’s rule protecting 84 million American workers with a vaccination or testing requirement. The AMA and other respected medical and public health experts have warned that ending the OSHA rule would “severely and irreparably harm the public interest.”
- More than 20 Republican AGs are seeking to overturn CMS’s mandate that health care workers be vaccinated against Covid-19. In the first year of the pandemic, more than 3,500 health care workers in the US died and tens of thousands more were infected and sickened.
- Nearly two dozen Republican attorneys general are working to block the administration’s vaccination requirements for federal contractors.
- Blocking Vaccine And Testing Requirements: The National Academy for State Health Policy found that nine GOP-controlled states have passed laws requiring exemptions for the federal vaccine mandate, or banning private companies from requiring vaccination altogether. Several states have made it easier for workers to claim exemptions from vaccine mandates, allowing them to decline on philosophical grounds or requiring businesses to accept all requests for religious or medical exemptions without proof.
- Launching Congressional Attacks On Vaccines: Republican members of Congress have filed at least 20 bills to block or roll back vaccine mandates. Every Republican member of the Senate has joined an effort led by Sen. Mike Braun to overturn the federal vaccine or test mandate using the Congressional Review Act, and nearly every Republican member of the House and Senate signed on to an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn OSHA’s vaccination or testing rule. Republicans like Rep. Nancy Mace and Sen. Ron Johnson have taken to the airwaves on Fox News and the Senate floor to promote the false idea that “natural” immunity acquired by getting sick is better protection than immunity provided by vaccines.
- Passing Bans On School Mask Mandates: At least eight Republican governors, including Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, have banned mask mandates in schools often putting them at odds with their own constituents and local school boards who want to protect students and teachers. A study in Arizona found that mask mandates work and schools that required all students and staff on campus to wear face masks were 3.5 times less likely to have a coronavirus outbreak during the Delta variant surge than schools that didn’t implement masking.
- Rolling Back Local Public Health Powers: Republicans in at least 26 states have passed laws that permanently weaken government authority to protect public health. In Arkansas, legislators banned mask mandates of all kinds. In Idaho, elected county commissioners can now veto countywide public health orders. And in Kansas and Tennessee, school boards, rather than health officials, have the power to close schools.