Republican lawmakers accuse White House of pressuring airlines on vaccines

Two senior US lawmakers Thursday accused the White House of pressuring US airlines to require their employees be vaccinated for COVID-19 by a Dec. 8 deadline for federal contractors or face firing. Representative Sam Graves, top Republican on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Garrett Graves, senior Republican on the aviation subcommittee, wrote President Joe Biden on Thursday, saying it "is unacceptable that your administration is using the threat of contractual measures as a coercion to single out American workers in a vital national industry." The lawmakers, who are not related, cited a Reuters story reporting that White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients had called the chief executives of American Airlines, Delta and Southwest on Sept. 30, urging them to follow United's lead in mandating employee vaccines. Zients on Wednesday praised airlinesfor mandating vaccines. "Vaccination requirements work. New data reinforces that fact each day," he said. Three of the airlines and the White House declined comment. <br/>