Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 5, 2022 / 17:00 pm
Republicans in Congress, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, have vowed to hold up the vote on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to force an end to the U.S. military’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement.
“We will secure lifting that vaccine mandate on our military,” McCarthy said in an interview on Sunday.
All military personnel are currently required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine according to an August 2021 policy set forth by United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Though the policy does include an avenue for service members to request medical and religious accommodations, some Republicans in the House and Senate blame the military’s low recruitment on the COVID vaccine mandate.
Now, a number of Republicans are threatening to hold up the NDAA’s passage until Congress requires the DoD to reverse its COVID vaccine policy. The NDAA is a must-pass bill due for a vote this week.