Newsmax host tweets 'I will not comply' after a report says the right-wing network is requiring vaccines for its employees

The federal government has provided COVID-19 relief in numerous forms, from free vaccines to economic programs.

Reuters

• Newsmax hosts have criticized the Biden administration's vaccine mandate for large employers.
• But the outlet said in a company-wide email this week it would be complying, Mediaite reported.
• After the news broke, Newsmax host Steve Cortes said he "will not comply" with any mandate.

As its hosts bash COVID-19 vaccine mandates, the conservative cable-news network Newsmax announced it will be requiring employees to get the shot, according to Mediaite.

The outlet obtained an email sent to Newsmax staff on Thursday announcing the mandate, which requires employees to get vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing starting January 4.

The email cited the Biden administration's rule requiring companies with 100 employees or more to institute mandates, Mediaite reported.

The rule, which covers around 84 million workers, says employees of large firms will have to be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. The White House announced Thursday the rule will take effect on January 4.

The same day the email was reportedly sent, Newsmax host Steve Cortes bashed the federal mandate, saying President Joe Biden's "dictatorial rule" was creating a "two-tier society" where the unvaccinated are second-class citizens.

Cortes also sent a tweet Friday night after reports surfaced that his employer would be instituting a mandate.

-Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) November 6, 2021

"I will not comply w/ any organization's attempt to enforce Biden's capricious & unscientific Medical Apartheid mandate. I will not be forced into the injection, nor will I disclose my vaccination status," he said. "No one should be pressured to choose between medical privacy & their job."

Newsmax did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Earlier in the week the network took White House correspondent, Emerald Robinson off-air after she falsely suggested COVID-19 vaccines had "bioluminescent" tracking devices and were satanic.

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