NPR:
The Biden administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate a major portion of its program mandating members of the military to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
In January a federal district court judge in Texas issued an order barring the Navy from requiring all SEALs to be vaccinated for COVID-19. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the order, and also refused to temporarily suspend its decision pending appeal.
In an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Defense Department is arguing that the lower courts have usurped the president’s core constitutional power — and by extension the military’s power — to make decisions as to “which service members should be deployed to execute some of the military’s most sensitive and dangerous missions.” And that, the Pentagon said in its brief, imperils military readiness, noting that in one case the Navy has already been forced, against its best judgment, to deploy an unvaccinated Navy SEAL for duty on a close-quartered submarine.
See also: Pentagon Extends National Guard Support In DC After Trucker Convoy Arrives