Feds for Medical Freedom v. Biden — S.D. Tex., Galveston Division, No. 3:21-cv-00356

Case summary

Feds for Medical Freedom, Local 918 of the American Federation of Government Employees, Highland Engineering, Inc. and individual federal employees and contractors filed this action on December 21, 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division, No. 3:21-cv-00356. It challenged Executive Order 14043, which required federal employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and Executive Order 14042, which imposed the same requirement on federal contractors. The complaint pleads seven counts: two of ultra vires action, non-delegation under Article I, three under the Administrative Procedure Act, and one for declaratory judgment. On January 21, 2022 the court enjoined Executive Order 14043 nationwide and denied relief as to Executive Order 14042. The Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc, affirmed on March 23, 2023. The government states that the President revoked both orders effective May 12, 2023.

Case at a glance

What did the district court decide?

In a memorandum opinion and order of January 21, 2022, Judge Jeffrey Vincent Brown granted in part and denied in part the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction: denied as to Executive Order 14042, because that order was already subject to a nationwide injunction, and granted as to Executive Order 14043, so that all defendants except the President were enjoined from implementing or enforcing it until the case is resolved on the merits. The court gave the injunction nationwide applicability and required no bond.

What did the Fifth Circuit decide?

Sitting en banc in No. 22-40043, the court held on March 23, 2023 that it had jurisdiction over pre-enforcement challenges to the federal-employee vaccine mandate and affirmed the district court's order on the merits, with concurrences and dissents recorded in the judgment. The judgment ordered that the district court's judgment is affirmed and that each party bear its own costs on appeal.

What is the status of the case in the district court?

The government's memorandum of June 2, 2023 opposes the plaintiffs' motion to lift the stay and for summary judgment. It states that the Fifth Circuit's mandate issued on May 15, 2023, that on May 9, 2023 the President revoked Executive Orders 14043 and 14042 effective 12:01 a.m. on May 12, 2023, and that the Solicitor General had not yet determined whether to seek further review. No ruling on that motion appears among the filings on this page.