MSNBC’s Ari Melber branded Chief Justice John Roberts Thursday as the “most pivotal legal defender of the Affordable Care Act,” after he upheld a key provision of the law Thursday.
Roberts, who was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2003 by former President George W. Bush, broke with his conservative colleagues in ruling that the government has the authority to offer subsidies to Americans signing up for health insurance coverage through the federal exchanges.
Roberts “has become the most pivotal legal defender of the Affordable Care Act. And again, this is what’s so interesting about the Court, especially not only for Court junkies like us, but for people around the country,” Melber said after the ruling was handed down.
“The fact that you might think from Justice Roberts’ history and from the president that appointed him, he might be skeptical of Obamacare. That may or may not be true. The Chief Justice saying today, that does not matter, that’s not what moved him in this case. What moved him was the simple question, what was this law supposed to do, fund health care or defund it?” he asked.
Roberts also broke with conservative justices in 2012 when the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Obama’s landmark healthcare bill, including the controversial “individual mandate,” was constitutional.
“Was it supposed to fund it nationally or only in certain states? He says it’s clear to him that as drafted by the Democratic majority in Congress and signed by President Obama, it was clearly designed to fund and advance health care, not yank it away,” Melber said.
