In shift, Trump administration backs ruling that Obamacare should be thrown out

The Trump administration on Monday said it supports a federal judge’s ruling that the entire Affordable Care Act should be scrapped, signaling a shift in the Justice Department’s position and alarming Democrats who vowed to oppose the move.

“The Department of Justice has determined that the district court’s judgment should be affirmed,” three Justice Department lawyers wrote to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is now considering the case. “[T]he United States is not urging that any portion of the district court’s judgment be reversed.”

Story Continued Below

The GOP-led states that initially brought the lawsuit, Texas v. United States, had called for the entire law to be invalidated because Congress eliminated its individual insurance mandate penalty — an argument that swayed U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor, a George W. Bush appointee.

The Trump administration had previously argued that only elements of the ACA, like its protections for patients with pre-existing conditions, should be struck down but that other parts of the law could stand.

House Democrats — who had separately planned to introduce legislation on Tuesday that would fortify Obamacare — denounced the Trump administration’s new legal position as “unconscionable.”

“Millions of Americans will lose their health care immediately if this decision is upheld,” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a statement. “We will do everything we can to defeat this attempt to rip away Americans’ health care.”

Justice Department spokesperson Kerri Kupec said the department “has determined that the district court’s comprehensive opinion came to the correct conclusion and will support it on appeal.”

A group of Democratic-led states led by California is challenging the ruling, arguing that the federal health care law can remain in place even without a tax penalty for Americans who forego health coverage.