It’s no surprise Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia isn’t a fan of President Obama’s health care law. But his disdain was on full display during both sessions of Wednesday’s arguments.
In the morning session — in which the court weighed how much of the law should stand if the mandate is ruled unconstitutional — Scalia cited the horsetrading required to pass the bill — including the politically embarrassing, and failed, Cornhusker Kickback. He also admitted that he’d like to see the whole law fall if the mandate is ruled out of bounds.
In the afternoon, he took pains to remind the court of the unpopularity of the individual mandate.
The exchange occurred when Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. rejected a hypothetical that relied on the notion of Congress passing a massive new tax. This, he argued, would have to overcome massive political constraints.
At that point Scalia chimed in: He would’ve thought the individual mandate would also be too much of a political liability to ever pass Congress.
His fiery outbursts from the bench marked the three days of oral arguments, and will likely be reflected in his opinions when rulings come down in June.
