Mayor Muriel Bowser's mandates requiring proof of vaccination as well as masks to enter any indoor Washington, D.C. facilities are to go into effect Saturday, but 20 House Republicans have co-sponsored a bill to block that.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., introduced the one-page bill Wednesday, denouncing the "unconstitutional order" imposed on businesses and patrons and saying it "shall have no force or effect."
"This bill serves as a direct response to D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser's unconstitutional order for businesses and other establishments to enforce proof of vaccination for entry beginning Jan. 15, 2022," Gaetz wrote in a statement.
While there were 19 original co-sponsors, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., controls which bills get brought to the House floor. Also, passing a bill through the House and Senate and having President Joe Biden sign it before Saturday figures to be a tall order.
D.C. is one of many communities across the nation grappling with a dramatic surge in coronavirus cases as the fast-spreading omicron variant sweeps through.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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