Twenty Republican senators are making a strong push to end the Biden administration’s draconian military vaccine mandate and to reinstate discharged service members with back pay, according to Breitbart.
The effort is being led by Sens. Rand Paul (KY), Rick Scott (FL), Lindsey Graham (SC), Mike Lee (UT), Ted Cruz (TX), Ron Johnson (WI), Mike Braun (IN), Roger Marshall (KS), Tommy Tuberville (AL), Marco Rubio (FL), Steve Daines (MT), Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS), and Josh Hawley (MO).
On Wednesday, the group sent a letter to Senate Republican leadership informing them they will oppose moving forward on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorizes spending for the Pentagon if they get a vote on an amendment to the bill that would end the mandate and reinstate discharged troops with back pay.
The NDAA is the main vehicle Congress has to make changes to Pentagon policy once a year.
Paul, Graham, Lee, Johnson, Braun, and Cruz hosted a press conference on Wednesday to discuss their effort.
“Our young men and women in the military deserve better. The Biden administration’s vaccination mandate has forced our nation’s young patriotic men and women to choose between their faith and their career, between their medical autonomy and their career. At a time when the military is struggling to meet their targets for recruitment, the Biden administration is firing soldiers we invested in and trained,” Paul said.
According to Rand Paul, 20 Republican senators are on board so far, but they still need another 21 in order to stop a cloture vote on the NDAA. Paul said that no one is backing them from the Senate Republican leadership so far, which may deter other senators from joining the movement.
“This is something that the people want. It’s something our soldiers want. It’s something worth fighting for. And I hope our leadership will come around to supporting this,” he said.
Lindsey Graham said this was the first time he was voting against cloture of the NDAA.
“It literally is insane to drive men and women out of the military at the time we have recruiting shortages because of our refusal to take this vaccine. At the same time, we’ve had millions of people coming to the country legally without vaccination that are being sent by our own government all over the country. This is not lost on most people,” he said.
He added, “I will not vote to get on this bill unless we have a vote to change this policy. That’s something I’ve never done before. So it makes no sense to me to discharge thousands of people … at a time when we need to get more people in the military.”
