A Democrat Michigan county executive is bucking his party leader’s vaccine mandate and said he will not be enforcing one.
Mark Hackel, the elected Macomb County executive, told the Detroit News he would not go along with forced vaccinations or fire an employee who defied a federal vaccination order.
“No. God, no,” Hackel told the paper. “I have no intention of firing anyone for choosing not to be vaccinated. That’s a personal choice that people should be able to make for themselves.”
Hackel also said he opposes regular testing for the unvaccinated.
“I’m not in favor of mandating anything,” he said.
He also added that the would be open to potentially challenging the measure and would only enforce it “unless I’m forced to by some legal action and I realize there’s no way out. If there’s an opportunity for us to challenge this, or join a challenge, we’ll take a look.”
“I don’t ask my people if they’re vaccinated. I don’t threaten them,” he says. “Now people who don’t have to tell us they’re vaccinated have to prove to the chamber they are. I’m not going to force any of my people to do that. Why are we even going to a policy conference if things are that bad?” he added of the Detroit Regional Chamber’s annual policy conference decision to require vaccines.
That sets him apart from President Joe Biden and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), who have gone the route of forcing residents to comply.
Biden is requiring federal employees to get the shot or be tested, as well as employees of companies that have 100 or more workers. The new order comes with “substantial fines up to nearly $14,000 per violation,” CNN reported.
Whitmer responded by saying she “shares the president’s goal to tackle this virus” and did not criticize it, according to WDIV, only saying “our office is reviewing the president’s plan to understand what this means for Michiganders.”
However, across the country, leaders are speaking out in opposition to the broad mandate issued by the executive branch, potentially affecting approximately 100 million Americans.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich filed the first lawsuit against the Biden mandate, arguing that Biden is “once again flouting our laws and precedents to push their radical agenda.” Furthermore, Republican governors from South Dakota, Florida and Georgia have also threatened legal action
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Mark Hackel” by Mark Hackel.
