Biden Admin's Ominous Response to Question on Domestic Travel Vax Mandate: 'Everything's on the Table'
White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to a reporter during Monday’s daily media briefing regarding whether COVID-19 vaccines will be required for domestic travel, with the spokeswoman replying, “Everything’s on the table.”
The response came as numerous state and business leaders have launched lawsuits against the Biden administration after the official announcement regarding vaccine mandates for employees of companies with 100 or more workers on Thursday.
“The U.S. is now accepting fully vaccinated travelers from countries that were previously restricted during the pandemic,” a White House reporter began.
“Given how rapidly the delta variant spread here within the United States over the summer, why are there still no vaccine or testing requirements for domestic travel?” she asked.
Jean-Pierre’s answer left the door open for future regulations.
“We say this all the time: Everything’s on the table,” Jean-Pierre replied.
“We just don’t have any announcement to preview right now on this, so I don’t have anything more to share on the domestic travel,” she added.
Asked if the Biden administration will implement a vaccine requirement for domestic travel, Biden spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre says “everything’s on the table” pic.twitter.com/tBMyERMcuy
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 8, 2021
The news comes as the country “reopens its international borders Monday to travelers from 33 countries who have proof of vaccination and a recent negative coronavirus test,” as The Washington Post reported.
Airlines are reportedly prepared for a surge in travel as families with international relatives seek to reunite after being apart for many months.
Most of the nations removed from restrictions were from Europe. The continent was considered a key area impacted by the pandemic.
The change also takes place as the Biden administration announced a sweeping employer COVID-19 vaccine mandate for businesses with 100 or more employees.
“Today, the Labor Department issued its rule requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for companies with 100 or more employees and HHS released its rule to ensure that health care workers are vaccinated,” Biden tweeted Thursday.
Today, the Labor Department issued its rule requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for companies with 100 or more employees and HHS released its rule to ensure that health care workers are vaccinated.
Together, they will cover about 100 million Americans and help us beat COVID-19.
— President Biden (@POTUS) November 4, 2021
“Together, they will cover about 100 million Americans and help us beat COVID-19,” the president added.
The Thursday announcement was met with swift resistance, including lawsuits from business leaders and governors and attorneys general of conservative states.
Biden’s move met its first legal challenge Saturday when a federal appeals court temporarily suspended the enforcement of the new mandate.
The temporary injunction came as the court considers a lawsuit filed against the mandate by a group of plaintiffs that includes Louisiana Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry.
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