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White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called removing the military’s COVID vaccine mandate a “mistake” on Wednesday after congressional Republicans rescinded the measure.
Jean-Pierre said Republicans in Congress decided to fight against the “health and wellbeing” of American troops.
The National Defense Authorization Act increases the military budger nine percent for the next fiscal year. It includes a 4.6 percent increase in pay for personnel and adds an additional $19 billion to account for inflation — all while ending the vaccine mandate.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had threatened to kill the bill if it didn’t remove the vaccine mandate for military personnel.