BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. Doug Burgum today stressed his support for a legal challenge filed today on behalf of North Dakota and nine other states to the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on federal contractors.

North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem joined nine other states – Missouri, Nebraska, Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Montana, New Hampshire, South Dakota and Wyoming – in a lawsuit filed today asking a federal judge to declare the vaccine mandate unlawful and enjoin defendants from enforcing it. Burgum has been in discussions with Stenehjem regarding their shared opposition to the Biden administration’s vaccine mandates and legal options for challenging them.

“As we said in September when the Biden administration rolled out its misguided plan, we stand opposed to blatant federal overreach, and we fully support Attorney General Stenehjem joining the challenge to this illegal vaccine mandate on federal contractors,” Burgum said. “Safe, effective vaccines are still our best tool for preserving hospital capacity and ensuring access to care, but this overly broad mandate is a sweeping intrusion on states’ traditional authority to guard and protect the health and safety of their citizens.”