Trump Pushes SCOTUS To Strike Down ACA Amid Pandemic And Widespread Unemployment

June 26, 2020

Despite COVID-19 cases surging, and roughly 25 million Americans unemployed, the Trump administration this week urged the Supreme Court to strike down the Affordable Care Act — PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA’S signature health care achievement. If Obamacare were to permanently end, an estimated 23 million Americans could lose health insurance coverage. The 82-page brief from the administration was filed late last night in support of several Republican-led states arguing that the law is unconstitutional because Congress eliminated the individual tax penalty for failing to purchase medical insurance.

Meagan Flynn and Tim Elfrink with The Washington Post report SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI responded to the Trump administration’s effort to end Obamacare by saying there is “no moral excuse” for taking away health care from Americans. She called it an “act of unfathomable cruelty.” 

“A little more than a century ago, in what are known as the Chinese Exclusion Cases, the Supreme Court said that the political branches possess sweeping powers over noncitizens who are seeking to enter the United States. The court’s reasoning for granting Congress and the president these expansive powers wasn’t just because of some special status of the border. Rather, the Chinese Exclusion Cases were rooted in racism and xenophobia. The court believed that the political branches should have the power to decide whether foreigners of another race pose a threat to the United States. Today, a conservative majority on the Supreme Court chose to embrace this reasoning rather than reject it, in a case about the expedited-removal system.” That’s Leah Litman writing in The Atlantic in response to the Supreme Court’s decision yesterday to allow the executive branch to deport people without any judicial review. 

Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern with Slate also react to the SCOTUS decision this week on asylum seekers, and note how the court’s opinion on the matter contrasts with its recent decision on DACA. They write, “In a 7–2 ruling, the justices approved the Trump administration’s draconian interpretation of a federal law that limits courts’ ability to review deportation orders. This time around, the court did not note immigrants’ contributions to the nation or acknowledge their humanity in any way. Having last week treated one class of immigrants like actual people, the court on Thursday pivoted back to callous cruelty. All of the chief justice’s kind words about DACA recipients seemingly do not apply to immigrants who—according to the executive branch—do not deserve asylum.”

Today, the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling turns five. In the years since that landmark decision more than 300,000 same-sex couples have wed. But Richard Wolf with USA Today reports that the movement for LGBTQ equality still has a ways to go. “Despite gains in legal rights, economic status, public acceptance and emotional well-being, the LGBTQ community faces continued challenges from the Trump administration and religious groups in areas ranging from adoption and foster care to the rights of transgender people to join the military or use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity.”