The Trump administration told a federal court Thursday evening that it would no longer defend the Affordable Care Act (ACA), arguing that protections for people with pre-existing conditions are unconstitutional.
The Justice Department filed the brief supporting a lawsuit from Texas and 19 other Republican-led states. In their complaint, the states argue the courts must invalidate the entire ACA because Congress zeroed out the individual mandate, the penalty for not having insurance....
Donald Trump
Trump justice department will stop defending key parts of Obamacare
Administration makes rare decision not to defend federal law in court, pointing to changes in the measure due next year
The Trump administration said in a court filing late on Thursday that it would no longer defend key parts of the Affordable Care Act, a rare departure from the justice department’s practice of defending federal laws in court.
It said that the requirement that people have health insurance – the individual mandate – was unconstitutional and that the entire law, ...
Republican congressman to Trump: stop wasting time on NFL culture wars and focus on real issues
President Donald Trump and his Republican allies reportedly plan to use his divisive culture war attacks on the National Football League players’ #TakeAKnee protests to energize their conservative base this November’s mid-term elections. At least one Republican Congressman has had enough.
Mike Gallagher (R-WI), a first-term U.S. Representative from Green Bay, said on Wednesday that he disagrees with Trump’s decision to cancel a scheduled Tuesday celebration with me...
What’s going on with North Korea is a cautionary tale in rushing diplomacy
Amid talks of a historic deal with North Korea and a possible Noble Peace Prize for President Donald Trump (chiefly among his GOP supporters, his aides, and, well, himself), North Korean leader Kim Jong Un seems to be slamming the brakes on the negotiations.
While White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the Trump administration is “still hopeful that the meeting will take place,” signalling that the president is ready for “tough negotiations,” it&...
Here is Trump’s alternative to Medicare drug negotiation after breaking populist promise
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar is doing damage control, pushing back against criticism that President Donald Trump broke a key campaign pledge to have the federal government directly negotiate Medicare drug prices.
On Friday, Trump gave an underwhelming speech that spared drug companies and also released an ‘American Patients First’ blueprint that prompted more questions than answers — 135 questions to be exact. And on Monday, Azar defended him...
Trump blames “global freeloading” for costly US drugs. That’s not the problem
Introducing his plan to reduce prescription drug prices in America today, Donald Trump said his government would focus on “tougher negotiation, more competition, and much lower prices.”
The president criticized drug makers and insurance companies for failing to put...
Trump breaks key populist campaign promise to negotiate Medicare drug prices
On the campaign trail, candidate Trump promised to save hundreds of billions of dollars standing up to the pharmaceutical industry, and said he’d “negotiate like crazy” to bring down Medicare prescription drug prices.
Allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies for better prices has long been a goal for progressives, and when voters heard Trump stray from the Republican party orthodoxy, railing against Big Pharma as he asked for their support, many ...
Even the swamp has rules, DC lobbyists say. Michael Cohen didn’t play by them
Plenty of people in Washington, D.C. receive six figure salaries to try to convince government officials to make decisions that benefit corporations, not the public.
But there are some rules.
That’s the message from lobbyists, consultants, and public rela...
Trump administration stops short of approving the most restrictive Medicaid policy yet
The Trump administration just denied Kansas’ request to create an unprecedented “lifetime limit” on Medicaid, a federal insurance largely for the poor and disabled.
“We seek to create a pathway out of poverty, but we also understand that people’s circumstances change, and we must ensure that our programs are sustainable and available to them when they need and qualify for them,” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma ...
How Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo blew it at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected to vote against the nomination of Mike Pompeo for Secretary of State on Monday — which would be the first such vote for a secretary of state nominee.
CIA Director Pompeo, who would replace Rex Tillerson (who was fired in March), has thus far not received the support of a single Democrat on the SFRC (nor Kentucky Republican Rand Paul).
Bracing for the SFRC vote, Trump tweeted on Monday morning that it was partisan politi...