Biden admin says it will not halt firing employees seeking vax exemptions before a DC court ruling

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A Washington, D.C., district court judge issued a minute order Thursday asking the Biden administration to agree that both civilian and active-duty military plaintiffs will not be terminated while they await a ruling after they sued the administration over religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccines.

"None of the civilian employee plaintiffs will be subject to discipline while his or her request for a religious exception is pending," read a minute order from District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly obtained by Fox News.

The Biden administration, which had until noon on Friday to respond, said in a filing that it would not agree to halt the discipline and termination of any employees in the process of seeking a religious exemption to the vaccine pending the court's ruling on the temporary restraining order (TRO) motion. 

President Joe Biden puts his face mask on after speaking about the COVID-19 relief package in the State Dining Room of the White House, Monday, March 15, 2021, in Washington. (Associated Press)

"It is Plaintiffs’ burden to demonstrate impending irreparable harm…but Plaintiffs offer nothing beyond speculation to suggest that their religious exception requests will be denied and that they will be disciplined at all, much less on the first day that such discipline is theoretically possible," wrote the Biden administration in its filing Friday.

The judge on Thursday also asked the administration to agree that "active duty military plaintiffs, whose religious exception requests have been denied, will not be disciplined or separated during the pendency of their appeals."

The judge further ordered the defendants in the Biden administration to file a supplemental notice by noon on Friday that indicates whether they will agree that no plaintiff will be disciplined or terminated pending the court's ruling, or else another briefing will be scheduled.

President Joe Biden holds his face mask and waves as he exits Air Force One at Capital Region International Airport, Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, in Lansing, Mich.  (Associated Press)

FLORIDA SUES BIDEN, NASA OVER COVID VACCINE MANDATES FOR FEDERAL CONTRACTORS

Twenty plaintiffs sued President Biden and members of his administration in their official capacity over the president's Sept. 9 executive order mandating vaccines for federal employees, according to civil action filed Sunday.

"The Biden administration has shown an unprecedented, cavalier attitude toward the rule of law and an utter ineptitude at basic constitutional contours," said the plaintiffs' attorney Michael Yoder in a statement to Fox News.

"This combination is dangerous to American liberty," Yoder continued. "Thankfully, our Constitution protects and secures the right to remain free from religious persecution and coercion. With this order, we are one step closer to putting the Biden administration back in its place by limiting government to its enumerated powers. It’s time citizens and courts said no to tyranny. The Constitution does not need to be rewritten, it needs to be reread."

In this Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021, file photo, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the opening of a monoclonal antibody site in Pembroke Pines, Florida. (Associated Press)

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The lawsuit is the latest the administration faces amid growing claims that its vaccine mandates are unconstitutional.

The court order came the same day that Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., announced that his state filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over its vaccine mandate for federal contractors.