A Texas judge rules in favor of Republicans trying to dismantle Obamacare, Trump and Rudy flail against a legal onslaught, and a bipartisan coalition tries to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Then former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro talks to Jon Lovett about his plans to run for president in 2020.

Interview:

Show Notes:

Healthcare

• New York Times: Texas Judge Strikes Down Obama’s Affordable Care Act as Unconstitutional
• Washington Post: Federal judge in Texas rules entire Obama health-care law is unconstitutional
• Vox: Federal court rules Obamacare unconstitutional — but the law stands for now
• Bloomberg: Judge Lobs Political Bomb at Trump by Nullifying Obamacare
• Axios: Federal judge says ACA must be thrown out
• CNN: Here’s what’s at risk in the Texas Obamacare ruling
• Washington Post: Legal experts rip judge’s rationale for declaring Obamacare law invalid
• Washington Post: The latest ACA ruling is raw judicial activism and impossible to defend – Op-Ed
• Volokh Conspiracy: BREAKING: District Court Judge in Texas Holds ACA Is Unlawful
• Los Angeles Times: That Texas judge’s ‘insane’ ruling that Obamacare is unconstitutional could leave the law fatally wounded — or even stronger
• New York Times: In Weaponized Courts, Judge Who Halted Affordable Care Act Is a Conservative Favorite
• Politico: Obamacare ruling delivers new shock to health system
• Washington Post: ACA ruling creates new anxieties for consumers and the health-care industry
• New York Times: What the Obamacare Court Ruling Means for Open Enrollment
• Huffington Post: Emails Show Trump Administration Was Told Obamacare Ad Cuts Could Hurt Enrollment
• Huffington Post: Obamacare Will ‘Likely’ Survive Judge’s Ruling, Obama Tweets
• New York Times: Health Law Could Be Hard to Knock Down Despite Judge’s Ruling
• Axios: Affordable Care Act may be headed back to Supreme Court
• Washington Post: A Texas judge calls the 2020 campaign to order
• Washington Post: With the ACA in peril, Republicans get to show if they really want to protect people with preexisting conditions
• New York Times: Ruling Striking Down Obamacare Moves Health Debate to Center Stage
• Washington Post: Health-care law ruling puts Republicans on the defensive after campaign promises
• Politico: GOP feels heat in wake of Obamacare ruling: ‘It’s all the downsides’
• Bangor Daily News: Susan Collins says Texas ruling on Obamacare will be overturned
• Vox: The latest Obamacare ruling is part of a larger conservative attack on democracy
• Vox: Trump’s response to the Obamacare ruling reveals his bind on healthcare
• Vox: The Texas ruling against Obamacare is a boon to Medicare-for-all
• Vox: The Medicare-for-all paradox
• USA Today: Take it from me, tweaks won’t fix health care. – Op-Ed
• Politico: Establishment looks to crush liberals on Medicare for All
• Roll Call: On ‘Medicare-for-All,’ Democrats Tread Lightly

Trump investigations

• Washington Post: Mounting legal threats surround Trump as nearly every organization he has led is under investigation
• CNN: His worst nightmare: Trump’s life under a legal microscope
• Los Angeles Times: After nearly two years in the White House, Trump’s lies start catching up with him
• Associated Press: Scope of investigations into Trump has shaped his presidency
• Washington Post: New report on Russian disinformation, prepared for the Senate, shows the operation’s scale and sweep
• Washington Post: ‘Over my dead body’: Giuliani dismisses prospect of Trump interview with Mueller
• Daily Beast: Rudy Giuliani Vows President Trump Will Sit for Special Counsel Interview ‘Over My Dead Body’
• The Hill: Trump goes on offense against investigations after tough week
• Newsweek: GIULIANI’S DEFENSE OF TRUMP IS A ‘DEATH SPIRAL OF STUPID,’ NYU LAW PROFESSOR SAYS
• Daily Beast: Trump’s History of Campaign Finance Wrongdoing Destroys His New Defense
• NBC News: Poll: 62 percent say Trump isn’t telling the truth in Russia probe
• Bloomberg: Americans Turn More Pessimistic on Economy
• CNN: President Donald Trump’s poll numbers are bad, but here’s why he could win in 2020
• The Atlantic: What Will 2020 Democrats Do When Crowds Chant ‘Lock Him Up’?
• Washington Post: Who’s most at risk from the Russia investigation? It just might be the Democrats – Op-Ed
• New Yorker: Adam Schiff’s Plans to Obliterate Trump’s Red Line

Yemen

• Vox: The bizarre story of Democrats helping Republicans stall action on Yemen
• Huffington Post: 5 Democrats Bail Out Paul Ryan And Protect Saudi Arabia
• Baltimore Sun: Ruppersberger: Farm Bill vote broke my heart – Op-Ed
• The Nation: What the Hell Is Wrong With Paul Ryan?
• Paste: “This is why people hate Congress”: Paul Ryan Just Single-handedly Prevented Us from Stopping Our Own War Crimes
• The Hill: Pelosi faces pressure to act on Saudi Arabia
• Washington Post: Senate rebuke of Trump on Yemen shows Congress, not just the president, can offer moral leadership
• The Nation: The Senate’s Yemen Vote Proves a More Democratic Foreign Policy Is Possible
• New York Magazine: What the Senate’s Rare Bipartisan Rebuke to Trump Means for Yemen

Julian Castro

• NBC: The twin Castro brothers teamed up for one of the most unusual presidential announcements ever
• CNN: Julian Castro moves closer to 2020 presidential run with exploratory committee
• CNN: The real reason Julian Castro is jumping in front of the 2020 pack
• Washington Post: Former HUD chief Julian Castro moves toward presidential run
• Express News: Castro, unlike O’Rourke, has much to lose in 2018
• Politico: Castro launches political group ahead of possible 2020 run
• Daily Texan: Former housing secretary Julián Castro to teach at UT
• Saccurent: Julián Castro On Where Hillary Went Wrong, the Fate of the Democratic Party and Latino Voters
• Housing Finance: Castro Reflects on His Time at HUD
• Texas Tribune: Beto O’Rourke says Julián Castro’s likely 2020 presidential bid won’t affect his own plans
• Texas Tribune: Analysis: A potential Texas shootout inside the 2020 presidential race
• BuzzFeed: Here’s What A Julián Castro Presidential Run Could Look Like
• The Guardian: Julián Castro calls Latinos to action as he moves toward 2020 run
• Texas Observer: Dear Beto and Julián, Please Don’t Run for President
• New York Times: Julián Castro and the Cordial Candidacy