Case docket
Biden v. Missouri — application for a stay in the Supreme Court of the United States
Biden v. Missouri — 5 court filings in the archive, mostly from Supreme Court of the United States (appendix to application), filed between December 16, 2021 and December 23, 2021. Among them: 1 exhibit and 1 motion.
Case facts
| Court | Supreme Court of the United States (appendix to application) (1 filing); Supreme Court of the United States (1 filing) |
|---|---|
| Filings | 5 public filings |
| Filed | 2021-12-16 – 2021-12-23 |
| Document types | exhibit (1), motion (1) |
| Original PDFs | 5 of 5 |
Case summary
On December 16, 2021 the Solicitor General, on behalf of President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and other federal applicants, filed an application in the Supreme Court of the United States for a stay of the injunction issued by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, pending appeal to the Eighth Circuit and any further proceedings in the Supreme Court. The injunction, entered November 29, 2021 in No. 4:21-cv-01329-MTS, preliminarily enjoined enforcement of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services interim final rule of November 5, 2021, 86 Fed. Reg. 61,555, against Medicare- and Medicaid-certified providers and suppliers in ten States. The application states that a divided Eighth Circuit panel denied a stay on December 13, 2021 in a one-sentence order. This page holds the application and its appendix.
Case at a glance
| Parties | Applicants, defendants-appellants below: Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States; Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services; Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; Meena Seshamani; Daniel Tsai; the United States; the Department of Health and Human Services; and CMS, by Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar. Respondents, plaintiffs-appellees below: the States of Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming |
|---|---|
| Court and docket | Supreme Court of the United States; the application as published carries the docket line "No. 21A-" with the number left blank. Below: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri No. 4:21-cv-01329-MTS and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit No. 21-3725 |
| Program | Not named in the filings on this page. No pandemic relief program is at issue; the rule conditions participation in Medicare and Medicaid on healthcare facilities ensuring that their staff are vaccinated, subject to medical and religious exemptions |
| Claims | An application under Supreme Court Rule 23 and the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. 1651, for a stay of the district court's preliminary injunction pending appeal and, if necessary, pending a petition for certiorari and further proceedings |
| Disposition or status | Not readable from the filings on this page. Both documents are dated December 16, 2021, and no order of the Supreme Court is published under this route |
| Status checked | 2026-09-23 · against DOJ press releases through 2026-09-22; court docket not yet read |
What rule is at issue?
The interim final rule with comment period entitled "Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination", 86 Fed. Reg. 61,555, issued November 5, 2021. The application states that Congress authorized the Secretary to condition healthcare facilities' participation in Medicare and Medicaid on requirements the Secretary finds necessary in the interest of patients' health and safety, citing 42 U.S.C. 1395x(e)(9), and that the Secretary amended the existing infection-control regulations in November 2021 to address the pandemic.
Why did the district court enjoin the rule?
As the government's application describes the ruling, the district court held that the respondent States were likely to succeed in arguing that Congress had not given CMS authority to enact the regulation, that the Secretary could not adopt a vaccination requirement without clear authorisation from Congress, that the Secretary lacked good cause to issue the rule without prior notice and comment, and that the States showed irreparable harm and that the public would suffer little harm from maintaining the status quo. This is the applicants' account of the decision below.
What is in the appendix?
The Eighth Circuit's one-sentence order of December 13, 2021 in No. 21-3725 denying the emergency motion for a stay pending appeal, with a note that Judge Kelly would grant it; the district court's memorandum and order denying a stay pending appeal in No. 4:21-cv-01329-MTS; and, at pages 37a to 109a, the text of the interim final rule.
Summary written from the documents on this page; every sentence is sourced.
Filings
5 public filings from this case, in filing-date order.
- Appendix to Stay Application — Biden v. Missouri (CMS Vaccine Mandate) (U.S.)Exhibit · PDF
- Application for Stay of Injunction — Biden v. Missouri (CMS Vaccine Mandate) (U.S.)Motion · PDF
- Amicus Brief of AMA, ACP, AAP, and Medical Society Amici — Biden v. MissouriPDF
- Amicus Brief of SEIU, AFT, and AFSCME — Biden v. MissouriPDF
- Amicus Brief of APHA, AAMC, and 126 Public Health Scholars — Biden v. Missouri & Biden v. LouisianaPDF
Court, dates and docket numbers are as recorded on the filings.