Biden tells Republicans threatening to sue over vaccine mandate: ‘Have at it’ – live

Here’s where the day stands so far:

• Republican leaders are threatening lawsuits over Joe Biden’s plan to order employers with 100 or more workers to establish vaccine mandates or require regular coronavirus testing. The proposal is part of Biden’s new six-pronged strategy to boost vaccinations and limit the spread of the Delta variant. “Joe Biden told Americans when he was elected that he would not impose vaccine mandates. He lied,” said Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. “When his decree goes into effect, the RNC will sue the administration to protect Americans and their liberties.”
• Biden responded to Republicans’ threats of lawsuits with this message: “Have at it.” While visiting a middle school in Washington this morning, the president said, “I am so disappointed that, particularly some Republican governors, have been so cavalier with the health of these kids, so cavalier with the health of their communities.”
• Biden also offered reassurance to parents who are worried about the safety of schools as the Delta variant continues to spread. “I want folks to know that we’re going to be okay. We’re going to be okay,” the president said at Brookland middle school in DC. “We know what it takes to keep our children safe and our schools open. And we have the tools to do it.”

The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.

Democratic congressman Jared Golden of Maine has expressed concern about Joe Biden’s plan to order employers with 100 of more workers to establish vaccine mandates or require regular coronavirus testing.

“After stating this summer that it is not the role of the federal government to institute vaccine mandates, I am frustrated that the Biden Administration has abruptly announced a vaccine and testing mandate for businesses with more than 100 employees,” Golden said in a statement, per the Portland Press Herald.

“While I personally think getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is a good thing to do, I am generally skeptical of blanket mandates from the federal government and I am particularly concerned about the negative pressure the president’s mandate may put on an already challenging labor market in Maine.”

Golden represents a district that Donald Trump won in 2020, and he has occasionally broken with his party on some major proposals, including Biden’s $1.9tn coronavirus relief bill.

Melody Schreiber reports for the Guardian:

As universities and colleges in the United States open for the fall semester, even those institutions requiring masks and vaccinations are grappling with unexpectedly high rates of Covid.

In one high-profile example, the University of Delaware sent a message to faculty this week, instructing them not to let students know if their classmates test positive for Covid-19 even though cases are rising on campus.

If a student notifies an instructor that they have Covid-19, the instructor is now not allowed to notify the rest of the class they came in contact with a positive case.

Instead, instructors should tell students that “given the current incidence of Covid-19 on campus, we should assume that we may have contact with individuals who are shedding Covid-19, perhaps unknowingly,” the email said.

One professor, who asked to withhold her name to protect her job, told the Guardian that she understood the policy as she didn’t want to reveal sensitive health information about some students to others. However, she said, she was concerned that current contact-tracing strategies would not be enough to control the spread of Covid on campus.

Joe Biden took a couple questions from reporters after concluding his prepared remarks at Brookland Middle School in Washington.

A reporter asked the president how he responds to Republican governors who have threatened to file lawsuits over his new vaccination policies, including his plan to order employers with 100 or more workers to establish vaccine mandates or require regular coronavirus testing.

“Have at it,” Biden replied.

“I am so disappointed that, particularly some Republican governors, have been so cavalier with the health of these kids, so cavalier with the health of their communities,” the president added.

“We’re playing for real here, this isn’t a game. And I don’t know of any scientist out there in this field that doesn’t think it makes considerable sense to do the six things I’ve suggested.”

Several Republican governors and the Republican National Committee have indicated they will file lawsuits to prevent Biden’s policies from going into effect, arguing that his plan is an overreach of federal authority.

Joe Biden offered reassurance to parents who are nervous that their children’s schools will be repeatedly closed because of the spread of coronavirus.

“I want folks to know that we’re going to be okay. We’re going to be OK,” the president said at Brookland middle school in Washington.

“We know what it takes to keep our children safe and our schools open. And we have the tools to do it.”

Biden noted he laid out a new strategy yesterday to boost vaccinations and limit the spread of coronavirus, which will help keep schools open in a safe manner.

The president encouraged parents to vaccinate children who are eligible to get the vaccine, meaning those who are at least 12 years old.

Biden then invited the students of Brookland Middle School to “a special visit at the White House” once they get vaccinated.

“I’m going to get in trouble with the Secret Service and everybody else,” Biden said.

“I’m not sure how we’re going to mechanically do it, but I assume the buses can get you to the White House. And if we can’t get you all in one room, we’ll be out in the Rose Garden or out in the back there and maybe let you fly the helicopters.”

Joe Biden was introduced by one of Brookland Middle School’s students, a young boy named Elijah Poole who discussed the difficulties of trying to get educated amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Once the president started speaking, he thanked Elijah for his kind introduction, and he noted that he could not have delivered such a speech when he was in eighth grade because he spoke with a stutter at the time.

“And I am amazed when I see young women and men like you, who stand up and speak with such grace and ease,” Biden said. “It’s really impressive.”

Jill Biden is speaking at Brookland Middle School about the need to protect children from coronavirus in the classroom.

The first lady, who is an educator herself, talked about how thrilled she is to be back in the classroom with her students. (Tuesday marked Biden’s first day back at Northern Virginia Community College.)

Biden addressed how difficult the past year and a half have been for parents whose children could not go to school because of the pandemic.

“Parents, this is hard, but you’re doing your best,” Biden said.

The first lady also expressed her thanks to teachers who have continued to share lessons with their students over the past year and a half, under extremely trying circumstances.

“With all my heart, thank you for being the heroes that we needed,” Biden said.

Joe and Jill Biden have just arrived at Brookland Middle School in Washington, where they will discuss safety protocols to protect students from coronavirus.

The president and the first lady were greeted at the school by education secretary Miguel Cardona, DC mayor Muriel Bowser, DC public schools chancellor Lewis Ferebee and principal Kerry Richardson.

Biden is expected to “deliver remarks about how the Administration is helping to keep students safe in classrooms,” according to his official schedule.

Stay tuned.

Despite the threat of lawsuits from a number of Republican leaders, it’s worth noting that at least one Republican governor is actually welcoming Joe Biden’s new vaccination policies.

“I appreciate the President’s continued prioritization of vaccination and the country’s recovery as we move forward,” Phil Scott, the Republican governor of Vermont, said on Twitter.

“As Vermont’s experience shows, vaccines work and save lives. They are the best and fastest way to move past this pandemic.”

Vermont has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, with 87.5% of adults already having received at least one vaccine dose.

The Republican National Committee has also said it plans to file a lawsuit over Joe Biden’s new vaccine policy for private-sector employers.

“Joe Biden told Americans when he was elected that he would not impose vaccine mandates. He lied. Now small businesses, workers, and families across the country will pay the price,” RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement released yesterday.

“Like many Americans, I am pro-vaccine and anti-mandate. Many small businesses and workers do not have the money or legal resources to fight Biden’s unconstitutional actions and authoritarian decrees, but when his decree goes into effect, the RNC will sue the administration to protect Americans and their liberties.”

When he announced his new pandemic response strategy yesterday, Biden indicated he was ready for a fight over his proposals.

“The bottom line: We’re going to protect vaccinated workers from unvaccinated co-workers,” the president said.

Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.

Yesterday, Joe Biden outlined his new strategy to boost coronavirus vaccinations and limit the spread of the Delta variant, which has caused an increase in case numbers across the country.

One of Biden’s initiatives involves ordering the Labor Department to direct businesses with more 100 workers to establish vaccine mandates or require employees to undergo regular coronavirus testing.

And some Republican governors are already pushing back against the president’s policy.

“The American Dream has turned into a nightmare under President Biden and the radical Democrats,” South Carolina governor Henry McMaster said on Twitter.

“Rest assured, we will fight them to the gates of hell to protect the liberty and livelihood of every South Carolinian.”

Arizona governor Doug Ducey threatened to fight the policy in court, saying, “This is exactly the kind of big government overreach we have tried so hard to prevent in Arizona – now the Biden-Harris administration is hammering down on private businesses and individual freedoms in an unprecedented and dangerous way. This will never stand up in court.”

The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.