The End of President Biden's Military COVID Vaccine Mandate

Statement

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy issued the following statement regarding the elimination of the COVID vaccine mandate in this year's National Defense Authorization Act:

"The end of President Biden's military COVID vaccine mandate is a victory for our military and for common sense. Last week, I told the president directly: it's time to end the COVID vaccine mandate and rehire our service members.

"While I applaud the end of this onerous mandate -- the Biden administration must go further. Unfortunately, the mandate has already had negative consequences for our military:

"The Army and Navy missed their 2022 recruitment goals by thousands of service members. And, at the direction of the Biden administration, the Defense Department discharged 3,300 Marines, 1,800 soldiers, 1,800 sailors, and 900 airmen simply based on their personal decision to not take the COVID vaccine. This decision was detrimental to the ranks, and there is no doubt it put our national security at risk.

"These heroes deserve justice now that the mandate is no more. The Biden administration must correct service records and not stand in the way of re-enlisting any service member discharged simply for not taking the COVID vaccine.

"Make no mistake: this is a win for our military. But in 28 days the real work begins -- the new House Republican majority will work to finally hold the Biden administration accountable and assist the men and women in uniform who were unfairly targeted by this Administration."

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