Judge’s Ruling Prevents Sabotage…Of the Constitution
Late this afternoon, a federal judge in San Francisco issued a ruling in the recent court case surrounding cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments. Judge Vince Chhabria—notably, an appointee of President Obama—denied a request by Democratic Attorneys General for a preliminary injunction demanding that the Trump Administration keep making the CSR payments to insurers. By denying the request for an injunction, Judge Chhabria’s ruling illustrates how the Obama Administration sabotaged the Constitution by spending money without a congressional appropriation.
Notably, Judge Chhabria’s ruling came on the merits of the case for an injunction—he rejected arguments by the Justice Department that the states lacked standing to sue, or that they should have filed their case in the District of Columbia, where the House v. Hargan lawsuit initiated in 2014 remains pending. The judge observed repeatedly that “it appears initially that the Trump Administration has the stronger argument.” Specifically, he stated that the case differed from King v. Burwell—where the Supreme Court ruled that language that appeared clear in isolation (“Exchange established by the State”) was actually ambiguous in the context of the broader statute. Judge Chhabria concluded that, at this stage of the case, it appears the Administration has the stronger argument that the cost-sharing reduction payments and premium subsidies are two separate and distinct programs—meaning that the Obama Administration violated the Constitution by using an appropriation for the latter to spend money on the former.
On whether or not the states would suffer irreparable harm without a preliminary injunction, Judge Chhabria noted (as this author has done previously) that cutting off CSR payments would actually increase overall spending on health subsidies, and reduce the number of uninsured—outcomes that liberals would normally support. He pointed out this scenario to the plaintiffs—and their response, as cited in the ruling, speaks for itself:
When counsel for the State of California was confronted at oral argument with the fact that the relief sought by the states [i.e., a preliminary injunction] could cause this harm [i.e., a reduction in subsidy spending], he responded by suggesting that perhaps the Court could order the Administration to resume the CSR payments even while the states continue to allow the insurance companies to charge higher premiums on the exchanges, with the idea that the numbers would reconciled later, through some unexplained process. In other words, allow the insurance companies to collect double payments in 2018. This argument does not even merit a response.
But it does raise the question: why, in light of this discussion, have all these Attorneys General rushed to court seeking an emergency ruling against President Trump?
The answer might best be explained by the last two words: “President Trump.” To demonstrate themselves as part of “The Resistance,” the Democratic Attorneys General were willing to bring a case that might actually harm their constituents more than it helps them.
In his conclusion, Judge Chhabria had little patience for the liberal strategy of “talking down Obamacare”—making “doom-and-gloom” predictions prior to open enrollment, just to score political points by accusing President Trump of “sabotage:”
If the states are so concerned that people will be scared away from the exchanges by the thought of higher premiums, perhaps they should stop yelling about higher premiums. With open enrollment just days away, perhaps the states should focus instead on communicating the message that they have devised a response to the CSR payment termination that will prevent harm to the large majority of people while in fact allowing millions of lower-income people to get a better deal on health insurance in 2018. [Emphasis mine.]
Which raises an important question: Do Democrats actually WANT Obamacare to succeed—or do they secretly want it to fail, because they believe President Trump will get the blame if it does?
Regardless, today’s ruling upholds the argument that Obamacare does NOT include an appropriation for cost-sharing reduction payments, and that the Obama Administration sabotaged the Constitution and the rule of law by spending funds never appropriated by Congress. Perhaps now that one of President Obama’s own judicial nominees has ratified that conclusion, people can focus on that sabotage, instead of the supposed “sabotage” of Obamacare.