In other news, the full House of Representatives voted to impeach Donald Trump late last night by a margin of 230 to 197. And one member voted "present." That was Tulsi Gabbard.
Meanwhile, the notoriously conservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Obamacare's individual mandate is unconstitutional, but did not rule on the rest of the law. The case has been sent back to a lower court.
In a 2 to 1 decision, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said late Wednesday that it is ordering U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas to reconsider whether the ACA, more commonly known as Obamacare, should remain in tact. Health policy experts say the decision will likely delay the Supreme Court hearing the landmark case until after the 2020 elections, with a ruling as far out as 2021.
Finally, the Daily Beast reports that the Trump regime is quietly running interference to alter or block a Russia sanctions bill that has already been passed Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
A Trump State Department official sent a 22-page letter to a top Senate chairman on Tuesday making a wide-ranging case against a new sanctions bill. [...]
The administration’s letter says it “strongly opposes” the bill unless it goes through a ton of changes. It argues the legislation is unnecessary and that it would harm America’s European allies–potentially fracturing transatlantic support for current U.S. sanctions on Russia. The bill “risks crippling the global energy, commodities, financial, and other markets,” the letter says, and would target “almost the entire range of foreign commercial activities with Russia.”
The Trump administration also argues that the bill would sanction Russian companies for starting their own new energy developments in Russia. And it argues the sanctions could target American banks operating in Russia and harm American asset managers.
The Trump regime is very worried about hurting business activity in Russia.
I'm heading out to see Star Wars with my brother this evening, so I'm signing off a little bit early.