Wednesday, April 26, 2017

The Constitution Takes Precedence over Obamacare

The April 17 editorial “The reckless threat against the ACA,” which accused President Trump of wanting to break health care, omitted two key words: the Constitution. As in: U.S. District Court Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled last May that the Obama administration violated the Constitution by spending money on Obamacare’s cost-sharing reductions without a valid congressional appropriation.

The lawsuit brought by the House — a lawsuit the editorial board said Mr. Trump “should continue fighting” — would provide an important constitutional check on executive authority by prohibiting a president from spending money absent explicit congressional approval.

The editorial said Mr. Trump “should be working to preserve the Affordable Care Act.” But Mr. Trump did not take an oath to preserve, protect and defend Obamacare. He took an oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. And preserving the precedent set by Ms. Collyer’s ruling, and protecting Congress’s foremost power — the power of the purse — would do much to restore an important constitutional check and balance.

The editorial board’s blind defense of Obamacare without even acknowledging the important constitutional concerns surrounding the cost-sharing lawsuit did a disservice to the rule of law. Sacrificing legal principles to policy outcomes — Obamacare must be preserved, whether constitutional or not — is how democracy dies in darkness.
This post was originally published in The Washington Post.