U.S. Supreme Court conservatives lean against Biden business vaccine policy
- Cases test presidential powers to act against pandemic
- Shots or tests required at companies with 100-plus workers
- Vaccines needed at facilities that take Medicare, Medicaid
WASHINGTON, Jan 7 (Reuters) – Conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices on Friday questioned the legality of President Joe Biden’s pandemic-related vaccine-or-testing mandate for large businesses but appeared more receptive to his administration’s vaccine requirement for healthcare facilities at a time of surging COVID-19 cases.
The court’s nine justices, who are all vaccinated, heard more than 3-1/2 hours of arguments in two cases that test presidential powers to combat a raging public health crisis that already has killed roughly 835,000 Americans.
The conservative justices, who hold a 6-3 majority, signaled sympathy toward arguments by the state of Ohio and a business group that the federal workplace safety agency that issued the rule affecting businesses with at…
