President Obama used the Supreme Court’s decision to send a challenge to Obamacare’s birth control mandate back to the lower courts on Monday to push for his nominee to the high court.
The Supreme Court decided on Monday to let lower courts decide on a challenge from 37 religious nonprofits to the Affordable Care Act’s birth control mandate. The decision to punt back to the lower courts come as the Supreme Court remains short-handed after the February death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia.
During an interview with Buzzfeed on Monday, Obama said the lack of a full court might have played a hand in the decision.
“I won’t speculate as to why they punted, but my suspicion is that if we had nine Supreme Court justices instead of eight, then they wouldn’t have punted,” he said.
Obama’s comments come as his nomination for the high court, federal Judge Merrick Garland, has stalled amid GOP opposition.
However, it is highly unlikely Garland could have been seated in time to hear oral arguments on the case Zubik v. Burwell and be able to render a decision. Garland was nominated on March 16, and oral arguments were heard a week later.
Garland, who sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, has not advanced in the Senate. GOP leaders have repeatedly said they will not hold hearings on Garland or a vote, opting instead for the next president to make his or her own pick.
