Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday that he has filed a lawsuit against the federal government over the Defense Department’s vaccine mandate for service members, particularly those in the National Guard. Abbott accused the Biden administration of violating the Constitution’s Second Militia Clause and undermining his commander-in-chief authority.
RELEASE:
Governor Greg Abbott today sent a letter announcing his intention to sue the federal government over its unconstitutional vaccine mandate for the Texas National Guard. In the letter, the Governor reminds everyone in his chain of command not to punish any member of the Texas National Guard for choosing not to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. This letter comes after the Biden Administration tried to subject non-federalized guardsmen to an unconstitutional COVID-19 vaccine mandate from the U.S. Department of Defense. The Governor sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin last month reaffirming that the State of Texas will not impose the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on members of the Texas National Guard.
“As the commander-in-chief of Texas’s militia, I have issued a straightforward order to every member of the Texas National Guard within my chain of command: Do not punish any guardsman for choosing not to receive a COVID-19 vaccine,” reads the letter. “Unless President Biden federalizes the Texas National Guard in accordance with Title 10 of the U.S. Code, he is not your commander-in-chief under our federal or state Constitutions. And as long as I am your commander-in-chief, I will not tolerate efforts to compel receipt of a COVID-19 vaccine. Let me be crystal clear: It is the federal government that has put Texas’s guardsmen in this difficult position. As your commander-in-chief, I will fight on your behalf. That is why I am suing the Biden Administration over its latest unconstitutional vaccine mandate.”
