House Republicans have hired a new lead attorney to handle their lawsuit against President Barack Obama over his unilateral tweaks to Obamacare.
William A. Burck of the firm Quinn Emenual Urqhart & Sullivan has been retained, after David Rivkin backed out under pressure his firm faced from other clients, a House Republican aide with knowledge of the lawsuit said.
As Burck notes in his official biography, he was the defense counsel for Maureen McDonnell, wife of now-convicted Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), in his recent high-profile political corruption trial.
The news was first reported by David Drucker of the Washington Examiner.
House Republicans voted in July to sue Obama—the first time the House has endorse a lawsuit against an incumbent president. The following month they hired Rivkin, a respected lawyer with the firm BakerHostetler, in August on a $500 per hour contract.
Rivkin, who has worked in previous Republican administrations, is no stranger to politically-charged cases: He was the lead attorney for the 26 states which sued to overturn Obamacare. A similar case made it to the Supreme Court in 2012.
Burck and Rivkin did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
