WASHINGTON — Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson and a dozen of his Republican colleagues are calling for the Senate to vote on an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2023 that would prohibit the military from discharging servicemembers solely based on their COVID-19 vaccination status.
In a letter to Republican leaders in the Senate, the 13 lawmakers said they oppose invoking cloture and moving ahead with the defense funding legislation until a vote is held on the amendment. The group is also calling for any servicemembers who were discharged because of their vaccination status to be reinstated with back pay.
The military’s vaccine mandate “has ruined the livelihoods of men and women who have honorably served our country,” they argued.
“While the Department of Defense certainly must make decisions that will bolster military readiness, the effects of the mandate are antithetical to readiness of our force, and the policy must be revoked,” the letter read.
Those who signed the letter, in addition to Johnson, include:
- Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)
- Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.)
- Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah)
- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas)
- Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.)
- Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.)
- Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.)
- Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)
- Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.)
- Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.)
- Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.)
The defense department mandated all servicemembers receive the vaccine last year.
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