A recent ruling by a federal judge in Texas deeming the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional will likely be overturned, according to bipartisan senators, who expressed skepticism Sunday that the case will end up in front of the Supreme Court and the ruling will be confirmed.
Their prediction was in opposition to that of White House aide Stephen Miller, who is confident Judge Reed O’Connor’s Friday ruling that the law’s individual mandate is unconstitutional will be upheld in the highest court. The judge also said the rest of Obamacare, as the ACA is known, was unconstitutional because it cannot be separated from the individual mandate.
Several states have said they would appeal the ruling and the healthcare law will remain in effect in the meantime.
Several Democratic senators likewise vowed to fight back, while Republican Senators Susan Collins and Roy Blunt acknowledged the ruling may very well not be upheld. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday that Democrats in Senate will do everything in their power to get Congress to intervene in the “awful ruling.”
“We’re going to fight this tooth and nail. And the first thing we’re going to do, when we get back there in the Senate, is urge — put a vote on the floor urging an intervention in the case,” he said, according to The Hill. “A lot of this depends on congressional intent. And if a majority of the House and a majority of the Senate say that this case should be overturned, it’ll have a tremendous effect on the appeal.”
Miller, on the other hand, said the administration has long known the healthcare law was unconstitutional, adding that once it is struck down, Democrats and Republican will have to work together “to come up with a replacement plan that protects pre-existing conditions.”
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