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Popular vote loser Donald Trump received notice Tuesday that his threats to sabotage Obamacare are going to land him in court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that states can step in to the administration's appeal of a lawsuit from the House of Representatives challenging the cost-sharing reduction payments to insurance companies Trump has been threatening.
The court agreed with the state officials that there's reason to believe the Trump administration isn't adequately acting on behalf of states. The Trump administration and House Republicans opposed the states' effort. […]
The Trump administration and House Republicans sought and received several delays from the appeals court this year, arguing in part that the repeal and "replace" effort on Capitol Hill―now stalled―could make the case irrelevant.
But at any time, Trump could drop the appeal or simply order the Treasury to end the payments.
That, coupled with concern that the administration wouldn't vigorously represent the interests of states and their residents, prompted California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in May to lead their counterparts in other jurisdictions to seek to mount their own appeal of the lower court ruling.
The other attorneys general are from Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington state, and the District of Columbia and they have now been given standing to do what the White House won't—defend these payments. The convoluted history of these payments just got weirder, but at least some elected officials are looking out for the best interests of their constituents and the rest of the nation.
There's also a pretty simple legislative fix, which would also make the case irrelevant—Congress just needs to make it explicit that the payments to insurers to compensate them for coverage they are legally obligated to provide are authorized by Congress. It's the easiest thing this Congress could do to stabilize insurance markets right now, something Republicans insist they want to do. Here's their chance.