More Obstacles For White House Agenda As Federal Judge Blocks Biden's Vaccine Mandate

President Joe Biden’s aim to amplify vaccination rates has endured more complications.

Texas federal judge Jeffrey Brown ruled Friday that the president cannot make it obligatory for federal workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19, questioning whether the government could "require millions of federal employees to undergo a medical procedure as a condition of their employment.”

"That, under the current state of the law as just recently expressed by the Supreme Court, is a bridge too far," Brown said.

Brown, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, said Biden’s executive order “amounts to a presidential mandate that all federal employees consent to vaccination against COVID-19 or lose their jobs.” He stressed that the government could resort to less invasive courses of action to limit the spread of the virus, such as social distancing and mask wearing.

"While vaccines are undoubtedly the best way to avoid serious illness from COVID-19, there is no reason to believe that the public interest cannot be served via less restrictive measures than the mandate," Brown wrote.

The Biden administration announced that it intends to appeal the ruling.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said 98% of all federal employees have already gotten the COVID-19 vaccine.

"We are confident in our legal authority here,” she said.