Judge blocks Biden vaccine mandate for federal contractors

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Joe Biden's administration from enforcing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for employees of federal contractors, the latest in a string of victories for Republican-led states pushing back against Mr. Biden's pandemic policies.

U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker, in Augusta, Georgia, issued a stay to bar enforcement of the mandate nationwide.

The order came in response to a lawsuit from several contractors and seven states — Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia. But it applies across the U.S. because one of the parties challenging the order is the trade group Associated Builders and Contractors Inc., whose members do business nationwide.