Gov. Ron DeSantis calls for a special session to combat Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates
Amping up his ongoing fight with the White House, today Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, or as the comedy duo Good Liars calls him, “Ron DeathSantis,” called for a special session of the GOP statehouse to block President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandates.
He’s notoriously anti-mandate, anti-lockdown, and just generally anti-anything that could get the dire COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations down in his state.
Florida on Tuesday reported 2,122 more COVID-19 cases and one death to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according to Miami Herald calculations of CDC data.
During the governor’s press conference today, DeSantis referred to vaccine mandates as “forced injections” and used the loss of jobs to justify what is more an anti-health stance than an anti-mandate plan.
“We have an opportunity here to take additional action, and I think we have to do it,” DeSantis said, adding: “I think we have got to stand up for people’s jobs and their livelihoods.”
No specific date has been given for the session.
DeSantis joins Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who has said that Biden’s mandate has “weaponized” the COVID-19 vaccine.
Lee says Biden’s mandates violate trust in individuals.
“I will continue to oppose that Biden Administration vaccine mandate and am preparing to do so in court as well. Here’s why: That approach is wrong. It’s not the vaccine. It is the mandate. Companies all across America are figuring that out as we see pilots and flight attendants walk off the job and nurses walk out of hospitals and parents walk their children out of schools,” Lee says.
DeSantis has disregarded state bans on masks in classrooms, and even fined local school boards that impose them.
According to Politico, DeSantis’ Florida Department of Health issued Leon County a $3.7 million fine.
“He’s behaving like the dictators that supposedly we all hate,” state Sen. Annette Taddeo told ABC News. “Why are we telling private businesses what they can and cannot do?” This week, Taddeo announced her intention to run for governor.