Biden DOJ reverses Trump’s era position

The Justice Department notified the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it no longer considers Obamacare unconstitutional, the department’s latest reversal since President Joe Biden was inaugurated in January.

The Supreme Court is challenging Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, introduced by Texas and other Republic-led states. Former President Donald Trump’s Justice Department supported Texas in legal reports and during the November oral discussions.

California and other blue states are advocating for the law, according to which 20 million Americans have obtained health coverage.

“Following the change of administration, the Justice Department has reconsidered the government’s position in these cases,” Deputy Attorney General Edwin Kneedler wrote in a letter to Supreme Court Secretary Scott Harris.

The reversal of Biden’s Justice Department was expected. Biden played a role in overseeing the monumental legislation through Congress in 2010 while serving as vice president of then-President Barack Obama.

The case concerns the provision of the individual Obamacare mandate, which requires most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a fine.

The Supreme Court previously upheld the individual mandate as lawful under the tax powers of Congress. After Republicans in Congress set the penalty at $ 0 in 2017, Texas presented its challenge, arguing that the mandate was no longer a tax.

The Trump Justice Department agreed that the mandate was unconstitutional. The department also argued that if the Supreme Court overturned the individual warrant, it must repeal the entire Affordable Care Act.

Kneedler wrote that Biden’s Justice Department reversed its position on both issues. The department, he wrote, believes the provision of the individual warrant is lawful and that if the court finds no, the provision can be removed while the rest of the law remains in effect.

During the oral discussion of the case, the judges seemed unlikely to completely rule out the legislation, although it was unclear whether a majority would consider the individual warrant illegal. Chief Justice John Roberts and Judge Brett Kavanaugh, both Conservatives, suggested they supported the separation of the individual mandate provision from the rest of the current law.

Kneedler, who has served in the Justice Department for more than 40 years under the presidents of the two major political parties, wrote in the letter that the department did not want to file further writs in the case. A decision is expected during the summer.