Good Monday morning Utah! Thanks for reading “The Rundown”.
📢 Let me know what’s on your mind? Keep sending me your story ideas, feedback on this newsletter or whatever else you may be thinking. I read every single message. Send me an email or find me on Twitter @SchottHappens.
Get this newsletter delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up for free here.
(Andrew Harnik | AP) Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.
Mike Lee goes all-in against vaccine mandates
Last week Sen. Mike Lee introduced nine separate pieces of legislation targeting federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
President Joe Biden announced he was mandating the COVID-19 vaccine for all federal employees and contractors. He also said he was directing OSHA to develop a rule requiring businesses with 100 or more employees to mandate vaccines or weekly testing. In August, the Pentagon said it would mandate the vaccine for members of the military.
Lee, who contracted COVID last year and has since been vaccinated, has been a critic of the Biden administration’s move to mandate the vaccine. After Biden announced his plan for mandates, he tweeted that the president “has shown a wanton disregard for the U.S. Constitution.” He also called Biden a “would-be autocrat.”
This rash of bill filings, which do not have a single co-sponsor as of yet, suggests Lee may not be confident that Biden’s plan will be overturned in the courts.
Ultimately, these bills are political theater designed to send a message. There’s very little chance the Democratic-controlled Congress would pass them. In the unlikely event that was to happen, President Biden would likely veto them if they got to his desk since they’re directly targeting his policies.
Lee’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Here’s what you need to know for Monday morning
🦠 A lack of planning and government infighting hamstrung Utah health officials during the first stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. [Tribune]
🏛 The U.S. House will vote later this week on the $3.5 trillion budget proposal. House Democrats are still trying to build support for the package that will enact much of President Joe Biden’s agenda. [WaPo]
🚨 The odds are growing that the U.S. could default on debt as the standoff in Congress over raising the debt limit continues. The Treasury will likely exhaust its power to borrow money in the next few weeks. [Politico]
🏛 Wyoming Republican Liz Cheney said in a “60 Minutes” interview that “millions of people have been betrayed and misled” by former President Donald Trump’s lies about the election being stolen. [CBS News]
😳 This is some Jason Bourne stuff. In 2017 the CIA plotted to kidnap or even assassinate Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. The plan went so far that there were discussions at the highest levels of the Trump administration. [Yahoo! News]
👀 The Utah Inland Port Authority secretly worked behind the scenes to advance a proposal to improve an unused California railroad that would be used to ship coal from a port in northern California. [Tribune]
🤝 Millcreek leaders struck a deal with Reagan Outdoor Advertising to remove six existing billboards in exchange for three digital billboards at the entrances of a new planned complex in the city. [Tribune]
💉 Many Utahns aren’t getting vaccinated against COVID-19 because they’re worried about possible side effects from the shot. [Tribune]
💉 Do COVID-19 vaccines work? The data paints a dramatic picture when they don’t. [Tribune]
💉 Pfizer’s CEO says they’ll ask for approval of their COVID-19 vaccine for some children under 12 years old. [CNN]
🚨 A new study says today’s children will live through three times as many climate disasters as their grandparents. [WaPo]
🇩🇪 Germany inches to the left. The left-center Social Democrats clawed out a narrow win over Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union. SPD leadership says they will try to form a coalition government with the Greens and liberals. [BBC]
🇮🇸 Iceland elected Europe’s first majority-female parliament. [Axios]
💵 Here’s a closer look at how the LDS Church amassed a fortune that’s worth as much as $100 billion. [Tribune]
Monday morning’s Utah news roundup
Utah
COVID-19
Environment
Religion
Opinion page