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Ramesh Ponnuru

Trump Heads to an Obamacare Rematch With John Roberts

The chief justice saved the Affordable Care Act once. Why would a new case make him change his mind?

Waiting for the next case. — Waiting for the next case.
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

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March 28, 2019, 3:00 PM UTC

News about a current lawsuit against Obamacare has come out within a few days of news about an old one from which it grew. The Donald Trump administration put itself on record urging the courts to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act. And a new book by Supreme Court reporter Joan Biskupic revealed details about the curious path that Chief Justice John Roberts took in the 2012 case.

In that case, the nine justices of the Supreme Court split into four blocs.