Once again, Congress has the power to head off the Doofus-in-Chief at the pass by simply passing an appropriation for these funds. Just like the sanctions bill, it could be passed with a veto-proof majority.
Once the payments are appropriated, the President can’t withhold them. Nixon did so much withholding of appropriated funds that Congress passed the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which prohibits the President from impounding (withholding) funds appropriated by Congress for a specific purpose.
So what is Trump’s plan for great health care that will cover everyone? I think he has no idea.
If Trump refuses to make those payments, expect the Democrats to pound the theme next year, that “the Federal Government has enough money to send Trump to Mar-A-Lago X number of times but not enough to keep your deductible affordable”.
Trump is a playground bully. We all need to simply stand up to his empty threats and call him on his bullshit.
Lets put this another way… it wont be trump or people with as much wealth as him that will be subsidizing this bad idea…
ALL of these Republicans including POTUS are irredeemably sick bastards. They openly and without shame wake up every day determined to snatch health care away from as many struggling Americans as possible even before affixing the American flag pin to their lapels!
GOP= Enemy of the People!
yeah, this would backfire spectacularly and likely cost the GOP the mid-terms and beyond.
Trump thinks he’s holding all the cards
The man isn’t even playing with a full deck.
So hard to believe that we are playing a playground game of chicken with a five-year old throwing a tantrum, and thousands of American lives at stake. Jean Paul Sartre couldn’t have written this play.
I don’t know. Do Democrats actually do messaging?
Too dark. The very absurd Eugene Ionesco would do the story justice though. The Balding Soprano or some such.
The other guys own all the outlets.
If the president makes good on his threat, experts estimate that premiums for a standard “silver” plan would increase by about 19 percent. Insurers could recover the cost-sharing money by raising premiums, since those are also subsidized by the ACA, and there’s no question about their appropriation.
Andy Slavitt has a Tweetstorm about this. I’m not sure I completely get it, but I think the idea is that insurers should hike silver plan premiums immediately and states should refile their subsidy filings straight after. It’d be the effective end of silver plans, but for enrollees eligible for CSRs it’d make bronze plans in many cases effectively zero premium, and gold plans available to many for about what they’re currently paying out of pocket for silver - and the higher actuarial value should have a similar effect to what the CSRs would do.
ETA: rather uneasy about the reliance on both insurers and states to do the right thing though.
Interesting article. However, “the President may request that Congress rescind appropriated funds” which is the legal argument House Republicans won at the district court (now on appeal) - that the funds were never actually appropriated. I would assume Trump can’t legally do anything until the appeals court has their say, and probably will end in SCOTUS.
Also of interest, if Trump forces the issue, it effects Silver ACA plans (likely 20% increase), but technically not Bronze, Gold, and Platinum plans.
I would also be suspect of states acting quick enough, or at all to save the subsidies if Trump goes apeshit.
If of interest, Millhiser at TP covers many of these possible scenarios. It is complicated.
Yes, this is the argument that was the basis of the original lawsuit. It is in the language of the ACA that this funding is not worded as an appropriation. Congress still has the ability to fix this though.