Senator Ron Johnson PHOTO: WRN
A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court’s rejection of U.S. Senator Ron Johnson’s Obamacare challenge. Tuesday’s unanimous opinion from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago agreed with last July’s ruling by a U.S. District Judge in Green Bay, who said that Johnson and an aide lacked legal standing to bring the case because they had not shown any personal harm from the adoption of executive rules which implemented the Affordable Car Act.
The Wisconsin Republican was challenging a requirement that lawmakers and their staff members use the ObamaCare exchanges to get their tax-subsidized health insurance, arguing that those rules forced him to treat his staff differently than his constituents.
“For the second time, my attempt to restore the constitutional balance between the executive and legislative co-equal branches of government has been stymied by the courts,” Johnson said. “With this decision today, another executive action by the administration will go unchallenged, all based on the legal technicality of standing.”
Johnson said he and his legal team will review the decision prior to determining their next step.