By Andrew C. McCarthy

President Biden’s vaccine mandate, issued through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), is not scheduled to go into effect until January 4, 2022. But it has already been challenged in court by a number of states, businesses, and individuals. Now, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has suspended it while considering whether to issue a permanent injunction against it.

The Court’s short directive Saturday did not mince words:

This is on a fast track. The Biden administration must respond to the petition by close of business Monday, and the petitioners must respond the following day.

As for what the three-judge panel describes as “grave statutory and constitutional issues,” National Review readers will not be surprised. Jim Geraghty and Dan McLaughlin have already dismantled the supposedly “emergency” mandate on which no action was taken for two months after Biden said it was coming, and that is not set to take effect for another two months.