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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDOJ official quits amid @JeffSessions -#TRuMP attack on people with pre-existing conditions
Drats. Looks like we are losing a good Fed employee. damn.
Jeff Sessions
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
https://shareblue.com/doj-resignation-joel-mcelvain-obamacare-preexisting-conditions/
DOJ official quits amid attack on people with pre-existing conditions
By Caroline Orr -
June 13, 2018
................................
A senior official at the Department of Justice (DOJ) has resigned in the wake of the Trump administrations controversial decision to advocate for striking down the Affordable Care Acts (ACA) protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions.
The DOJ official, Joel McElvain, submitted his resignation letter on Friday, the morning after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the administration would argue in court that key parts of the ACA, including consumer protections for those with pre-existing conditions, are unconstitutional.
McElvains departure highlights internal frustration generated by the decision, according to the Washington Post, which first reported on his resignation late Tuesday afternoon.
He worked at the DOJ for over 20 years.
When the DOJ said last week that it wouldnt defend the ACAs protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions, it broke with decades of historical precedent by refusing to uphold existing federal law.
In defending the extraordinarily unusual move, Sessions said the DOJ had adopted the position with Trumps explicit approval.
Besides breaking precedent, the decision also reversed years of legal work McElvain and the Justice Department had performed on the issue, the Post reported.
According to the paper, McElvain described by DOJ employees as an expert lawyer and a well-liked boss led a team that defended the ACA in court battles. He and his team were honored for their work in 2013 with the Attorney Generals Award for exceptional service.............................................
Anon-C
(3,430 posts)LastLiberal in PalmSprings
(12,592 posts)Maybe he wasn't fired per se, but McElvain had just seen his entire life's work rendered moot by the Orange Shitgibbon and his Keebler Elf AG. He had enough years to retire, so off he goes to do the kind of work he loves to do. It's either that or he gets up each morning, smacks himself in the head with a brick, and then go to work in a place contrary to his beliefs and morals.
Well done, Mr. McElvain.
It's notable that this didn't happen in the dark. Someone made damned sure the world knew that McElvain had quit, and what kind of work he had done, and that he was not going to work to undo it. It's another form of protest.
enough
(13,262 posts)Not saying he shouldnt resign, just that it works for them.