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In the state’s latest push against federal vaccine mandates, Gov. Greg Abbott is suing the Biden administration for requiring Texas Army National Guard members to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The suit, filed Tuesday in the Eastern District of Texas, is the latest in what has been a slew of litigation against federal vaccine mandates that Texas has either brought forth or taken part in during the pandemic. The legal battles include litigation over vaccine mandates for large businesses, health care workers and federal contractors. (Waller, 1/4)

Texas officials indicated Tuesday that thousands of National Guard members are refusing COVID-19 vaccines in the latest challenge against a Biden administration order that requires all members of the military to get one. A lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton comes a week after a federal judge rejected a similar challenge brought by Oklahoma’s governor, amid growing Republican opposition to the vaccination mandate for Guard members. (1/5)

The latest data from the military show that roughly 30,000 active-duty service members remain unvaccinated against COVID-19, despite a Defense Department mandate issued in August and deadlines that have passed. Their defiance of a military order is a striking illustration of how deeply politicized the pandemic has become in the United States. “Racism, suicide, addiction to conspiracy theories — you name it. If you can find it in the civilian population, you can find it within the military,” said Peter Feaver, a political scientist at Duke University who specializes in civil-military relations. “The difference is that the military has a wider range of tools to include more day-to-day control over the lives of its members ... to monitor and manage these problems.” (Hernandez, 1/5)

The lawsuits face a steep legal hurdle, experts say. Federal courts have consistently refused to step in on military manning issues, according to Bob Muth, a law professor at the University of San Diego and former Marine Corps lawyer. “It’s well-established case law,” Muth said. “Generally speaking, federal courts give great deference to the military in ensuring force readiness. You can’t have service members running into court challenging every order they receive.” (Dyer, 1/2)

Some of the nation’s soldiers facing discharge claim they are being crushed by President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate and say it’s pushing out the military’s best and brightest. (Bowens and Seward, 1/3)