The Biden administration petitioned a federal court Tuesday to immediately lift a stay on the government’s COVID-19 vaccine and testing requirement for private businesses, citing an “ongoing and overwhelming” threat from the illness.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed its request with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, picked by lottery last week to consolidate numerous legal challenges filed against the federal order. The Daily Wire was first to file a legal challenge against the Biden administration rule in the Sixth Circuit and is poised to lead the court battle against the federal government.

The Justice Department request to lift the stay comes over two weeks after the order was originally stayed by the Fifth Circuit.

“Before the various petitions for review were assigned to this Court, the Fifth Circuit granted a stay and enjoined the implementation and enforcement of the Standard,” the petition says, referring to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rule. “The Fifth Circuit’s stay should be lifted immediately.”

The Fifth Circuit stayed the OSHA regulation on November 6, citing “grave statutory and constitutional issues.” A three-judge panel at the court later wrote that the regulation “grossly exceeds OSHA’s statutory authority.”