Noah Feldman, Columnist

Trump Learns Just How Durable Obama's Policies Are

The president doesn't have what it takes to undo his predecessor's signature achievements.

July 18, 2017 at 8:36 PM UTC

Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A professor of law at Harvard University, he is author, most recently, of “To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People."

It'll take more than a bat to destroy Obamacare.
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

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President Donald Trump may not like it, but he can’t -- so far -- reverse two of President Barack Obama’s signature accomplishments: the Affordable Care Act and the Iran nuclear deal. In one emblematic, frustrating day, Trump both saw the failure of the Senate bill to repeal and replace the ACA and was forced by his advisers to certify that Iran is in compliance with its nuclear obligations.

Trump ran against Obamacare and the Iran deal. He’s got a Republican Congress and unilateral legal authority on Iran. So why can’t he act?