President Donald Trump overruled some objections within his administration to back a federal ruling which would end the Obamacare system, two sources familiar with the decision tell The Daily Caller.
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar and Attorney General Bill Barr opposed the administration’s public support of a federal judge’s ruling, noting that full administration support for the end of Obamacare would be difficult because no alternative health care framework remains in place.
Trump dismissed the concerns with support from acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and acting Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, these sources told the Caller. The distance between Azar and the White House was first reported by Politico and denied in a statement by HHS.
“The Department of Justice has determined that the district court’s judgment should be affirmed,” the Department of Justice wrote Monday on Trump’s direction, adding that the government “is not urging that any portion of the district court’s judgment be reversed.” (RELATED: Here’s How Trump Silently Gutted Obama’s Legacy)
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 expected such an outcome, telling reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that the lawsuit against Obamacare is considered “phase one” and that if the Supreme Court strikes down the framework “we will have a plan that is far better than ObamaCare.”
Trump also tweeted his desire for the Republican party to support health care legislation in the coming year and reiterated his desire for Congress to begin consideration of legislation ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
The Republican Party will become “The Party of Healthcare!”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 26, 2019
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 health care framework. The president has seethed since the defeat of Republican-led healthcare reform about his inability to fulfill his campaign promise and sees this new lawsuit as the way to accomplish it.
The president also tweeted in support of the federal judge ruling when it first occurred.
The Republican Party will become “The Party of Healthcare!”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 26, 2019
Some Republicans, however, are not thrilled with Trump’s decision to back the Obamacare lawsuit with many noting that health care concerns were one of the top reasons the party lost the House of Representatives in 2018 midterm elections.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy reportedly phoned Trump after the decision to complain about the decision and believed it was hindering a good news cycle in the midst of special counsel Robert Mueller’s finding of no collusion.