It’s not as though there aren’t options (and it should be noted that the administration has adopted worthy, piecemeal changes to the health-care system). A plan from The Heritage Foundation is tailor-made to be picked up by the administration. In fact, it’s been promoted in an op-ed titled, “A Health Plan for President Trump.”

But the administration has remained divided, with one faction reflecting vintage Tea Party thinking that no Obamacare replacement is necessary. In addition, health-care policy inevitably involves trade-offs that are all politically perilous.

So the path of least resistance is to commit to nothing. The administration has instead offered up an executive order pledging to cover people with preexisting conditions. The president has touted this as a historic act, even though it’s only a more official version of Trump’s prior promises.