Senate Votes Against Reinstating Troops Kicked Out Over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate; THESE REPUBLICANS Voted Against Reinstating Military Members Discharged for Refusing to Get Vaccinated, and other C-Virus related stories

Senate votes against reinstating troops kicked out over COVID-19 vaccine mandate:

The Senate voted 54 to 40 against a measure that would require the Department of Defense to reinstate service members who had been separated from the armed forces for refusing to get the coronavirus vaccine.

Lawmakers voted on the measure Thursday night ahead of the anticipated vote on the National Defense Authorization Act, which is must-pass annual legislation that funds the department. The proposal needed 60 votes for cloture and failed to get even a simple majority.

Negotiators agreed to end the military’s coronavirus vaccine mandate through the NDAA, despite President Joe Biden and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's continued support for the mandate. The mandate has already resulted in the separation of thousands of service members. --->READ MORE HERE

CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images

These Republicans Voted Against Reinstating Military Members Discharged for Refusing to Get Vaccinated:

Four Republican senators voted Thursday against reinstating military members who were discharged for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Mitt Romney of Utah, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, and Susan Collins of Maine voted against Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson’s amendment that would have reinstated and provided backpay to military members discharged for refusing to get vaccinated.

Johnson sought to amend the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the Senate, 83-11, Thursday night. Though this amendment failed, Republicans were able to include a provision in the NDAA that halts the Department of Defense from forcing service members to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

“These were direct orders from commanding officers,” Cassidy said in a statement to The Daily Signal on the vaccine mandate. “I voted to end the COVID vaccine mandate in the military but it is not Congress’s place to intervene in the chain of command and set a precedent for military personnel to ignore direct orders.”

The other senators did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Daily Signal. --->READ MORE HERE

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