President Joe Biden on Sept. 9 announced sweeping COVID-19 vaccine mandates for federal workers and contractors, and set a Dec. 8 deadline. Federal workers and contractors under the mandate won’t have the option to submit weekly COVID-19 tests and instead have to get vaccinated or seek a religious or medical exemption.
Norman said the mandate is creating a “huge issue” in South Carolina where essential workers such as engineers have walked off jobs and military families have come under pressure.
“It affects their livelihood, food on the table, not to mention their retirement,” said Norman. “This is a man-made crisis.”
Norman also cited “millions” of illegal immigrants entering the United States without needing proof of COVID-19 vaccination or having received a negative test.
“If it’s so important that Americans get vaccinated and to cause people to lose jobs again, how is it not important for the millions coming into this country?” said Norman.
President Joe Biden has presided over what is on track to be the worst border crisis in U.S. history in terms of the number of illegal immigrants that U.S. agents and officers have encountered. The number topped 200,000 in both July and August.
Psaki, responding to a question from a reporter on whether border patrol officials ask to see proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or negative test results “if somebody walks into the country, right across the river,” said illegal immigration is not comparable to foreign nationals who arrive by airplane to the United States.
Regarding the Biden administration’s enforcement of the vaccine mandate for employers with 100 or more employees, Norman said private companies are “being held hostage” while postal unions were exempt from the mandate.
“It’s been a pick and choose, it’s been a sham show that this administration continues to do,” stated Norman. “They say one thing and do opposite.”
The USPS, with more than 630,000 employees, is an independent agency of the Executive Branch.