LITTLE ROCK– Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge joined 20 state attorneys general in urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to uphold a lower court order halting President Biden’s unlawful vaccine mandate for federal contractors. Last fall, Rutledge along with 9 other state attorneys general successfully blocked the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate for federal contractors in Arkansas, Alaska, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. Rutledge now urges the Sixth Circuit to uphold the lower court’s decision.
“After stopping President Biden’s illegal vaccine mandate for federal contractors in Arkansas, I am dedicated to ensuring all Americans receive the same protections,” said Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. “This reckless and illegal mandate will force Americans to either get the shot or lose their jobs.”
The brief in support of the Commonwealth of Kentucky argues that President Biden exceeded his Constitutional and statutory authority by attempting to mandate vaccines through executive order. The brief also highlights that through the implementation of the arbitrary and capricious mandate, the Biden Administration has attempted to bypass the legal requirements for implementing regulations.
This amicus brief was filed by Florida in addition to Arkansas, Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
About Attorney General Leslie Rutledge
Leslie Carol Rutledge is the 56th Attorney General of Arkansas. Elected on November 4, 2014, and sworn in on January 13, 2015, she is the first woman and first Republican in Arkansas history to be elected as Attorney General. She was resoundingly re-elected on November 6, 2018. Since taking office, she has significantly increased the number of arrests and convictions against online predators who exploit children and con artists who steal taxpayer money through Social Security Disability and Medicaid fraud. Further, she has held Rutledge Roundtable meetings and Mobile Office hours in every county of the State each year, and launched a Military and Veterans Initiative. She has led efforts to roll back government regulations that hurt job creators, fight the opioid epidemic, teach internet safety, combat domestic violence and make the office the top law firm for Arkansans. Rutledge serves on committees for Consumer Protection, Criminal Law and Veterans Affairs for the National Association of Attorneys General. She also served as the former Chairwoman of the Republican Attorneys General Association.
A native of Batesville, she is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. Rutledge clerked for the Arkansas Court of Appeals, was Deputy Counsel for former Governor Mike Huckabee, served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Lonoke County and was an Attorney at the Department of Human Services before serving as Counsel at the Republican National Committee. Rutledge and her husband, Boyce, have one daughter. The family has a home in Pulaski County and a farm in Crittenden County.