The ruling was the latest setback for Democratic President Joe Biden, who announced a series of measures in September aimed at increasing vaccination rates in order to combat the pandemic, which continues to kill more than 1,000 Americans every day.
"Abuse of power by the Biden administration has been stopped cold again," Republican South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who joined the lawsuit, said in a statement.
According to U.S. District Judge Stan Baker in Savannah, Georgia, Congress did not expressly authorize the president to use procurement to impose a vaccine requirement on contractors with "vast economic and political significance."
The states of Georgia, Alabama, Indiana, Kansas, South Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia, as well as a trade group for building contractors, filed the lawsuit.
Contractors were required by the rule to have all of their employees fully vaccinated by January 18. Although Biden's executive order only applied to newly awarded contracts, the government has been requesting that suppliers agree to amend existing contracts to include the vaccine requirement.
The contractor requirement was intended to improve efficiency among government suppliers by reducing outbreaks, and it was broad in scope, requiring contractors to work remotely as well.
The ruling by Baker, a Trump appointee, on Tuesday temporarily halted the last remaining business mandates announced by Biden, as courts found the government overstepped its authority in imposing the rules.
Republican governors, business associations, and conservative civil liberties organizations all opposed the mandates.
Republican governors, business associations, and conservative civil liberties organizations all opposed the mandates.
The litigation is expected to last several months and could resurrect the rules, which covered nearly 100 million workers, despite the fact that 83 percent of U.S. adults have received at least one shot, according to government data.
Last month, a federal appeals court in New Orleans struck down a requirement that businesses with at least 100 employees have their employees vaccinated or tested on a weekly basis.
Last week, a requirement that most healthcare workers be vaccinated was overturned.
More than 780,000 Americans have died as a result of the pandemic, which has also slowed economic growth and clogged supply chains.
Mandatory vaccination has become an increasingly popular tool in the fight against the pandemic, increasing vaccination rates in the United States.
Despite the fact that the Biden administration's plans were thwarted in court, judges upheld mandates imposed by private employers, universities, and state and local governments.
The requirement for military and civilian government employees imposed by the Biden administration was upheld in court.