The House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on a sweeping defense bill that would repeal the Pentagon’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate for U.S. troops.
The amendment to eliminate the vaccine mandate is included in the national a massive $858 billion bill that funds the Pentagon and sets defense policy priorities.
The legislation requires the Pentagon to end the vaccine mandate for services members within 30 days of the bill’s enactment. Republicans insisted on including the repeal in the 4,000 page bill, backing Democrats into a corner because they need to pass the legislation this month to make sure troops receive their pay and benefits on time after the new year.
The bill will head to the Senate for a vote before landing on President jose desk. Though Congress is expected to pass the legislation, the White House has not signaled publicly whether Biden will sign the bill into law.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that Biden believes repealing the vaccine mandate is a mistake, but the president would look at the bill holistically.
“Republicans in Congress have decided they’d rather fight against the health and well being of our troops than protecting them and we believe that is a mistake,” Jean-Pierre said.