Biden administration considers proposal to end military COVID vaccine mandate

President Joe Biden's administration is mulling a proposal from Republican leader Kevin McCarthy to repeal the U.S. military's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the White House said on Saturday, Qazet.az reports.

McCarthy, who is vying to become speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, earlier told Fox News he had won bipartisan agreement to lift the mandate at a White House meeting with Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.

McCarthy said it would be repealed as part of the must-pass $817 billion National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, an annual bill setting policy for the Pentagon that is expected to pass the Senate and House of Representatives this month.

But the White House said Biden had agreed only to consider the idea.

"Leader McCarthy raised this with the president and the president told him he would consider it," said White House spokesperson Olivia Dalton. "The secretary of defense has recommended retaining the mandate, and the president supports his position. Discussions about the NDAA are ongoing."