Joe Biden seemed to call out Florida governor Ron DeSantis and other high-profile Republican leaders who have moved to block vaccine and mask mandates even as the Delta variant continues to devastate the country.
“Local school officials are trying to keep children safe in a pandemic, while their governor picks fights with them and even threatens their salaries or their jobs. Talking about bullying in schools,” Mr Biden said during remarks on Thursday at the White House about the state of the pandemic.
“If these governors won’t help us beat the pandemic, I will use my powers as president to get them out of the way.”
In states like Florida, one of the worst epicentres of the Delta variant crisis, officials risk financial penalties for their school if they move forward with measures like mask requirements. Mr Biden vowed to support any educators whose pay is impacted by such policies.
“I promise you,” he said. “I will have your back.”
A judge in Florida has recently ruled that Mr DeSantis’ orders banning school mask mandates overstepped his authority, and that the mandates could continue while the DeSantis administration launches a legal appeal in higher court.
During his address, the president also rolled out a vaccine requirement for all federal workers, contractors, and health care workers at facilities receiving Medicare or Medicaid funds. The policy will apply to more than 2 million people who work for the government.
Mr Biden also urged Americans to get vaccinated. Unvaccinated people with the Delta variant have been the major drivers—and victims — of the most recent phase of the pandemic, where America is averaging over 151,000 new cases a day.
“What more is there to wait for? What more do you need to see? We’ve made vaccinations free, safe and convenient. The vaccine has FDA approval, over 200 million Americans have gotten at least one shot,” Mr Biden said. “We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin, and the refusal has cost all of us. So please do the right thing.”
To make this a reality, the president said he would asked the Department of Labour to issue a rule requiring companies with more than 100 people to mandate vaccines or testing.
The administration is also planning to up the average weekly pace of shipments of free monoclonal antibody treatments, up fines for travellers who don’t wear masks at air ports, and make 280 million rapid and at-home Covid tests available.
