Congress is predicted to take up a must-pass annual defense bill this week because it races to get through a lengthy agenda before the 12 months involves a detailed. And Democrats trying to ensure its approval may bow to Republicans on a key demand – ending the Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine policy.
The deadline to pass the National Defense Authorization Act, set to be unveiled on Monday, is fast approaching, and a delay in its passage would complicate the already-packed lame-duck agenda as Democrats work to pass a handful of priorities before Republicans take control of the House, while a Dec. 16 deadline to fund the federal government and avert a shutdown also looms.
Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the Democratic chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told Politico over the weekend that a repeal of the policy is into consideration.
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“I used to be a really strong supporter of the vaccine mandate once we did it, a really strong supporter of the COVID restrictions put in place by DoD and others,” Smith said. “But at this time limit, does it make sense to have that policy from August 2021? That could be a discussion that I’m open to and that we’re having.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced in August 2021 that every one military personnel can be required to take the coronavirus vaccine. Since then, some Republican-led states have spearheaded legal challenges, while Republicans in Congress have warned that the mandate goes too far, because the military began discharging personnel in February for refusing the vaccine.
Last week, a gaggle of Republican senators – led by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina – held a news conference on ending the mandate, pledging to withhold their votes for the NDAA unless the policy was explicitly rolled back.
“The issue here is we’re having a dilemma we haven’t had in many years, and that’s finding enough people to serve within the military,” Graham said. “Our recruiting goals are way short, the conflicts on this planet are getting worse, not higher – we want more people within the military, not less.”
Also last week, a gaggle of Republican governors asked congressional leaders to repeal the policy, arguing that the mandate is “a national security risk that severely impacts our defense capabilities abroad and our state readiness here at home,” citing recent missed recruiting targets.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy warned on Sunday that the NDAA wouldn’t move forward and not using a rollback to the vaccine policy.
“We’ll secure lifting that vaccine mandate on our military,” McCarthy said on Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” after previously threatening to carry the bill up until Republicans take control of the House next 12 months. “That is the primary sign of getting divided government, you’ve got some compromise here, and we’ve got something that Republicans have been working very hard – and quite a few Democrats, too – trying to seek out success, but one-party rule would never allow that to go forward. And now we’re going to have success.”
Indeed, the soon-to-be Republican-led House will likely work to roll back the policy – if it still stands – once they take control of the chamber in January. But whether Democrats cede the mandate ahead of that turnover of power could turn into clear as early as Monday when the NDAA is about to be unveiled.
