The Trump administration approved Georgia’s plan, called a “waiver,” in its waning days. On Friday, Judge Lisa Godbey Wood of the US District Court for the Southern District of Georgia said it was illegal for the Biden administration to revoke that approval.
Godbey Woods wrote “the decision was not reasoned, was arbitrary and capricious for numerous independent reasons.”
The Biden administration had argued that the pandemic had changed the landscape of who is uninsured and who is not, and who can and cannot meet the pledge requirements, calling into question the original calculations of the waiver plan.
CMS, which is part of the Biden administration, is almost certain to appeal. The state of Georgia chose to file the plea in a court in southern Georgia, not in Atlanta. Godbey Woods was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush.
CMS previously said it does not comment on pending litigation. The AJC asked both CMS and Kemp for comment on the developing news Friday afternoon and will publish if they respond.
