On Monday night, the U.S Department of Justice issued a letter affirming a district court’s Dec. 2018 judgment in Texas v. United States that the Affordable Care Act violated the Constitution.
Last December, U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor wrote in his opinion that “the Individual Mandate can no longer be fairly read as an exercise of Congress’s Tax Power and is still impermissible under the Interstate Commerce Clause — meaning the Individual Mandate is unconstitutional.”
The Department of Justice sided with a district court ruling Monday that found the Affordable Care Act violated the Constitution. https://t.co/3zMUQD1kUc
— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) March 26, 2019
So what does this mean for Obamacare going forward? The Daily Caller reports:
The Texas judge’s ruling is sure to be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court, where, if upheld, it would upend the nation’s health care system. Trump campaigned heavily on a pledge to repeal and replace Obamacare, even leading a charge in the first six months of his presidential term to overturn the healthcare framework.
Republican attempts to use its united government were stymied by the late Sen. John McCain’s vote against the legislation, essentially ending all further attempts. Trump did succeed in removing the Obamacare “individual mandate” in his tax reform legislation, which penalized citizens for not having healthcare.
Democrats running in 2020 were not thrilled by the news. Here’s Amy Klobuchar:
This is outrageous and shows exactly where this President is coming from. Millions of Americans would lose their health care if this administration had their way: In shift, Trump administration backs judge’s ruling that would kill Obamacare – POLITICO https://t.co/hgGRvGauYi
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) March 26, 2019
And here’s Speaker Nancy Pelosi giving her two cents’ worth:
Tonight in federal court, the Trump Admin declared all out war on affordable, dependable health care. In the courts, in the Congress, all across America, Democrats will fight relentlessly to #ProtectOurCare! https://t.co/WLZl5X9GGr
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) March 26, 2019
All-out war on affordable, dependable health care happened the moment President Obama decided the government was a health insurance company. “If you like your health care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health care plan ” was named PolitiFact’s “Lie of the Year.”
A lot of citizens have recognized from the beginning that requiring American citizens to purchase health insurance is unconstitutional — it is not a tax — and while Republicans are trying to get the government out of the health insurance business, Democrats running in 2020 are making noises about eliminating private health insurance completely.
“The Republican Party will soon be known as the party of health care," Trump said after his administration told a federal judge to toss out Obamacare. https://t.co/QRtUSPssfT
— USA TODAY Politics (@usatodayDC) March 26, 2019
A federal judge in Texas ruled to wipe out all of Obamacare. The case is now before the 5th Circuit, and the Trump DOJ is hardening its position by agreeing with that judge’s view.https://t.co/TMDK7nJmur
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) March 26, 2019
Good.
This will be in court for a while, but this is a good start toward undoing what never should have been done.
Related:
ALL fiction! We knew Obamacare sucked but WHOA NELLY new report shows CBO really made sure it screwed the pooch https://t.co/5w73KsxixV
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) February 21, 2019
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