With the US Supreme Court delivering a blow to President Joe Biden on Thursday, blocking his Covid vaccination-or-testing mandate for employees of large businesses, and with near certain defeat in the Senate on his major voting rights bill, Biden had a rough day at office.

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The Supreme Court ruled against Biden's Covid-19 test-or-vaccine mandate on large businesses, a key component in the administration's bid to control the spread of the Omicron variant when only 62 per cent of Americans are fully vaccinated.

At the same time, the court is allowing the administration to proceed with a vaccine mandate for most healthcare workers in the US.

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President Biden had issued the mandate for companies with 100 employees or more to insist on vaccinations or regular testing as a way to put a lid on the stunning spread of the latest Covid variant.

Biden said he is ‘disappointed’ in the Supreme Court decision. “I am disappointed that the Supreme Court has chosen to block common-sense life-saving requirements for employees at large businesses that were grounded squarely in both science and the law,” Biden said in a statement.

Also read: AstraZeneca booster shot generates higher antibody response against Omicron, suggests preliminary report

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Biden called on employers to “do the right thing to protect Americans’ health and economy.”

The President welcomed the requirement that healthcare workers be vaccinated, saying it would affect some 10 million people working at facilities receiving federal funds and will “save lives”.

The court’s orders on Thursday during a spike in coronavirus cases was a mixed bag for the administration's efforts to boost the vaccination rate among Americans.

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The court's conservative majority concluded the administration overstepped its authority by seeking to impose the vaccine-or-test rule on US businesses with at least 100 employees. More than 80 million people would have been affected.

The Democrat got another blow, this time from his own party, when it became clear that there wasn't enough support to push two voting protections laws that he says are crucial to saving US democracy through the Senate.

“I hope we can get this done, but I’m not sure,” he conceded after a lunch with party senators.

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