Hi, my name is Kaelin, I'm a Girl Scout from St. Augustine, Florida. I'm on my way to Girl Scout at the Capitol Day.

This podcast was reported at 11.45 a.m. on Friday, January 14th.

Thanks for being here. Hopefully I will have used my voice to share Girl Scout mission with policymakers at Halhassy.

Don't forget to buy Girl Scout cookies this season. Okay, here's the show.

I have not forgotten. I just put it in order with a friend. Same, same.

I just was like, this timestamp was meant for me. One, we just got back from St. Augustine, Florida.

But second, I too was a Girl Scout enemy big fan of Girl Scout and Girl Scout cookies.

Me too. Me three. You too mean it. This is an all Girl Scout pod.

Well, hey there, it's the NPR Politics podcast. I must m'ah Khalid, I cover the White House.

I'm Tamra Keith. I also cover the White House. And I'm Nina Tottenberg. I cover the Supreme Court.

Well, we have you here, Nina, because the Supreme Court has blocked the Biden administration's COVID vaccine or test rule.

This rule would have required employees at companies with more than 100 workers to either be vaccinated against COVID-19 or receive a test every week.

This code is decision is no doubt a disappointment for the president and his COVID strategy.

And it comes as cases are soaring nationwide. But it is important to note the court did allow a vaccine mandate that applies to most health care workers to remain intact.

So Nina, let's start with this first decision. The rule that would apply to large companies. What was the courts thinking there?

The court said by a six to three vote that this was just way beyond anything that Congress had authorized when it set up the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is supposed to deal with the workplace and people get COVID, not just in the workplace.

And that this was not a targeted rule for people who were close to each other. That might be okay. This was for every employer who had 100 or more workers.

And they either had to be vaccinated by their employers at the federal government's expense or they would have had to be tested weekly and worn a mask.

And that was the rule that the court said in it. So essentially what the court was saying is COVID is everywhere. It's not a workplace specific hazard. It is a broader hazard. It's an environmental hazard. It's everywhere you go kind of hazard.

But Nina, I'm wondering does this have broader implications than just OSHA and this one particular rule?

Well, it definitely could. Four of the justices wrote concurring opinions or signed on to concurring opinions. Saying essentially you can't even do this. The Congress can't delegate this kind of authority.

Even if it's specifically delegated it to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and said, look in cases of vaccine where certain things are necessary. You can go ahead and have a country wide rule. You can't do that. The Constitution doesn't let you do that.

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