Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is under the mistaken illusion that any executive order he issues is stronger than any issued by President Joe Biden, suggesting that the governor has never read the United States Constitution.
Appearing on Fox News to discuss an executive order Biden signed last week mandating that all federal employees and businesses with over 100 employees be vaccinated for COVID-19, Abbott remarked:
“As you point out, it is states and governors who have the authority. I issued an executive order already in existence that prohibits any government from imposing a vaccine mandate on my fellow Texans. So we are going to have a constitutional showdown. I believe that the governor’s orders will supersede the president’s orders because the president does not have the authority to impose this.”
However, endless court decisions have made it clear over the centuries that a president’s executive order and any federal law always trumps what a state may seek to do. The Constitution also clearly spells out that federal laws and orders always supersede those of any state, even a state with an attitude as big as Texas’ clueless governor, who appears to be angling for higher office, provided he can manage to win reelection next year, which isn’t guaranteed thanks to his dismal handling of the pandemic in the Lone Star State.
If Abbott (or any other governors) want to take Biden to court, they’re welcome to, but they’ll just the same way governors have historically lost when it comes to federal supremacy.
