Obama's Old Law Professor 'Wouldn't Bet the Family Farm' on Obamacare Subsidies Surviving at SCOTUS
Harvard University law professor Laurence Tribe is a veteran liberal scholar who counts both President Barack Obama and Chief Justice John Roberts among his former students. In 2012 Tribe had the unique experience of watching one of those former students cast the deciding vote to secure the existence of the other's signature legislative achievement. I refer of course to National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, in which Roberts led the Supreme Court in upholding the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
In light of yesterday's conflicting decisions by two different federal appellate courts—one of which ruled that the tax subsidies issued through federally run health care exchanges in 36 states are illegal while the other court upheld those subsidies—it now appears that the Supreme Court may once again get the opportunity to decide Obamacare's fate. And in a recent interview with The Fiscal Times, Professor Tribe offered this prediction about how the Roberts Court is likely to rule this time around. "I don't have a crystal ball," Tribe said. "But I wouldn't bet the family farm on this coming out in a way that preserves Obamacare."
For more on yesterday's Obamacare rulings, see here.
