Republicans

A top House Republican from Florida is condemning the COVID-19 vaccine mandates imposed on the country’s armed forces by the Biden administration – just before the policy takes one hero Coast Guardsman out of service.

Aviation Survival Technician Second Class Zach Loesch was publicly thanked by President Joe Biden for his Hurricane Ian heroics in the Sunshine State but is going to soon be out of the thousands of service members suddenly off duty because they do not have both COVID-19 shots.

GOP Rep. Mike Waltz (Fla.-06) told DailyMail.com on Sunday that Loesch’s case ‘underscores how destructive’ the Biden administration’s vaccine policy has been on the US military.

He warned that the mandate could undercut the country’s ability to respond to future crises like Hurricane Ian and further exacerbate the military’s concerning personnel shortage. 

‘This will cripple our ability to effectively respond to the next natural disaster if the Biden Administration doesn’t reverse course. We need more service members like Zach Loesch who put their life on the line to save others – not less,’ Waltz said.

‘And with the military’s current recruiting crisis, these skills will be extremely difficult to replace.’

Waltz, a former Green Beret, has spearheaded multiple efforts to urge Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to drop the military’s vaccine mandate. 

The Coast Guard, while part of the armed forces, is technically under the Department of Homeland Security’s purview.

Loesch had told Brietbart that he applied for a religious exemption but it hadn’t yet been granted.

In a press release, Biden expressed his gratitude to the Coast Guard rescue swimmer: ‘I told him how proud of him I was and thanked him for all the work he and his Coasties are doing to save lives,’ the statement read.

As of September 2022, there are 2,632 unvaccinated members of the US Coast Guard. 

The military branch with the most unvaccinated members if the US Marine Corps with 8,913, followed by the Air Force with 3,955, then the Navy, 2,623, the branch with the fewest unvaccinated members if the US Army with 1,337.  

Loesch was working alongside Lieutenant Commander Christopher Hooper in his rescue. 

The statement thanked the pair ‘for the heroic work that they and their Coast…