Dive Brief:
- The Supreme Court on Wednesday morning heard oral arguments for King v. Burwell, the case that determines the fate of federally-issued subsidies in states that use the federal exchange.
- Chief Justice John Roberts, who is widely considered to be the swing vote in the case, asked few questions and gave away little that indicated how he might rule. Justice Anthony Kennedy, meanwhile, appeared open to the administration's argument, although he offered some skepticism: "It seems to me that under your argument, there's a serious constitutional problem," Kennedy said to the plantiffs' attorney, Michael Carvin.
- The arguments followed largely partisan lines, with Justice Samuel Alito floating the idea of delaying the impact of the court ruling until next year if the administration loses.
Dive Insight:
The Twitterverse avidly followed the arguments. Here is our handy list of some of the most telling tweets:
Scalia expressed faith in Congress fix if government loses health care case: "Yes, I think this Congress would act." @CQnow
— Todd Ruger (@ToddRuger) March 4, 2015
Ginsburg brought up standing right away, soon as Carvin started. But Verrilli didn't jump at it. #SCOTUS #king #burwell
— Jonathan Cohn (@CitizenCohn) March 4, 2015
John Roberts said almost nothing today. Cards extremely close to the vest. Scalia and Alito had knives out for Obamacare.
— Brian Beutler (@brianbeutler) March 4, 2015
Justice Alito floats possibility of delaying impact of court ruling until new tax year if government loses. #ReutersSCOTUS
— Reuters Legal (@ReutersLegal) March 4, 2015
Alito and scalia very hostile to #aca. Thomas silent. #scotus
— Jeffrey Toobin (@JeffreyToobin) March 4, 2015
Kennedy: #SCOTUS 2012 health-care ruling on Medicaid said Congress couldn't put states in such a bind that they had no choice but to comply.
— Brent Kendall (@brkend) March 4, 2015
Of the 7.5 million people who would lose ACA subsidies if SCOTUS rules for the King plaintiffs, 3.5 million are in FL, TX, NC, and GA.
— Larry Levitt (@larry_levitt) March 4, 2015
Issue of coercion was a big one in #SCOTUS health care argument. Justice Kennedy worried a win for challengers could violate states' rights.
— Brent Kendall (@brkend) March 4, 2015