The United States military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate came one step closer to ending on Thursday when the Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act for 2023 and sent it to President Joe Biden’s desk.
The bill, which provides policy guidance for the Department of Defense, instructs “Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to rescind his August 2021 memorandum imposing the mandate,” The Associated Press reported.
But it doesn’t create a path to reinstatement for members of the military who were discharged due to their opposition of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. An amendment focused on that issue failed to get enough votes, according to The Associated Press.
“Opponents (of the amendment) worried about the precedent of rewarding members of the military who disobeyed an order,” the article said.
Since it was put forward last year, the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate has been at the center of controversy. It prompted multiple lawsuits, including claims that military leaders were ignoring or discrediting sincere religious objections to the COVID-19 vaccines.
But throughout the legal battles, the Biden administration defended the policy, arguing that it was necessary to ensure troop readiness. As recently as this month, officials criticized efforts to rescind the COVID-19 mandate.
“We continue to believe that repealing the vaccine mandate is a mistake,” said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Dec. 7, according to Reuters.
Last week, the White House declined to say whether Biden would sign the defense policy bill if it included the vaccine guidance, CNN reported.
Democrats in Congress agreed to go against the White House’s wishes for the mandate in order to ensure that the “must-pass policy bill” would make it “across the finish line,” according to CNN.
“The final version of the defense policy bill is the product of lengthy negotiations between key House and Senate lawmakers,” the article said.
Ahead of Thursday’s Senate vote, the National Defense Authorization Act passed the House with bipartisan support. Just 80 representatives opposed it, while 350 voted for it, as the Deseret News reported earlier this month.
First Liberty Institute, the law firm behind prominent faith-related challenges to the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, released a statement Thursday celebrating the bill’s passage, but also warning that underlying tensions have not yet been resolved.
“The president and the Secretary of Defense owe our troops an apology for the religious hostility they’ve endured. If our nation and our military are to remain the greatest on earth, service members of faith must be treated with dignity, tolerance, and respect, not forced to choose between their faith and serving their country,” said Kelly Shackelford, First Liberty’s president, CEO and chief counsel, in the statement.