President Joe Biden personally thanked a Coast Guard rescue swimmer for saving lives during Hurricane Ian just days before his expected discharge for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.

Zach Loesch, who rescued stranded Florida residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, received a call from Biden thanking him for his service and efforts to save lives, according to the White House. Though the Biden administration praised Loesch, he told Breitbart that he will be kicked out of the Coast Guard in the next 30-60 days for refusing the vaccine mandate.

Loesch has submitted a religious exemption waiver and an appeal, yet both have been denied and his discharge is imminent, reported Breitbart. Loesch is one of 1,200 Coast Guard members who will be discharged over the next few months for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine mandate put in place by the Biden administration.

“If I had asked any of the people I saved yesterday if they wanted to come with me even though I am unvaccinated, every single one of them would have said ‘yes.’ It just sucks that he thanked me yet his vaccine mandate is what’s kicking me out,” Loesch told Breitbart.

Biden personally thanked many Coast Guard members for saving lives during Ian but specifically referenced Loesch in a White House speech. “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,” Biden said.

The coast guard hero speaks out and says 'the vaccine mandate is getting him fired' and @PeteHegseth joins to weigh in. pic.twitter.com/yEHcR3jeDD

— Brian Kilmeade (@kilmeade) October 3, 2022

The president also spoke with Lieutenant Commander of the Coast Guard Christopher Hooper, who is leading the search and rescue operation.

“It just sucks that he thanked me yet the vaccine mandate is what’s kicking me out,” Loesch told Breitbart. “I just love my job and I’m really good at it. It sucks. I feel like this is the job that I was born to do.”

The Thomas More Society, a not-for-profit public interest law firm, has filed a lawsuit “challenging the Coast Guard’s across-the-board denial of requests for religious exemptions from the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.”

The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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