The president backed away from his previous insistence for a vote on an Affordable Care Act replacement.
Last week, President Donald Trump withdrew from his prior push for an Obamacare overhaul vote. He had been seeking a vote toward a replacement for the Affordable Care Act.
Trump changed directions, deciding to hold off his efforts against the ACA until after the 2020 elections.
Trump’s move away from the Obamacare overhaul vote was a recognition of the current political situation. It has become clear that health care replacement legislation would not make it past Congress as it currently is.
The president’s decision arrived a week after the Trump administration released an announcement claiming it had come to an agreement with the ruling of a judge saying that the Affordable Care Act should be dumped in its entirety. That statement was in direct conflict with previous statements made by the administration, which said it intended to change only segments of Obamacare which were indefensible.
This move to hold off with the Obamacare overhaul or replacement lets Trump wait out all its obstacles.
This newest strategy makes it possible for Trump to wait on the issue of the Affordable Care Act as its legal issues progress further through the federal court system. This sets him up to be able to claim that he lived up to a campaign promise if the federal courts ultimately overturn Obamacare. Its timing would be a strategic one that would make it possible for him to use this claim in a 2020 re-election campaign.
At the same time, if Obamacare is overturned by the courts, he would still need to contend with the issue of an estimated 20 million Americans suddenly losing health insurance coverage under his presidency. As of yet, the Republican party does not have a replacement lined up to implement should the ACA be eliminated.
On the other hand, if the Affordable Care Act continues to be upheld, as has been the case in previous challenges that have made it to the Supreme Court, Trump can fall back on his arguments against the “liberal” court system afraid of an Obamacare overhaul, said a CNN report.