AP
interviewed House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi—a powerful force about the
King v. Burwell case before the Supreme Court, the case challenging subsidies to people buying health insurance on the federal exchange. She's optimistic about the case, but has a warning for Republicans.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi predicted Wednesday that Republicans will "rue the day" if the Supreme Court buys their arguments and invalidates tax subsidies for millions of people under President Barack Obama's health care law. […]
"They're now going to then go out and say we're going to take subsidies away from people who have health care?" Pelosi said in an interview with The Associated Press in her office overlooking the Supreme Court. "No, I don't think so." […]
"I don't think it's going to happen so it's no use speculating on what I don't think is going to happen. But it would be bad news for them, it would be really bad news for them," she said of Republicans.
If anybody knows Republicans, it's Nancy Pelosi who has a close-up view for too long. She knows how unlikely it is that Republicans would be able to come up with some kind of solution that keep the eight million whose insurance is threatened covered. After all, she's watched them struggle to come up with any kind of replacement plan for Obamacare for the past four years they've had the majority.
But what's Pelosi's track record on SCOTUS predictions? Pretty good. Here she is on the first challenge, NFIB v. Sebelius: "We believe that this bill constitutionally is ironclad. I expect a 6– 3 'aye' verdict from the Supreme Court." Other than giving Justice Anthony Kennedy a little too much credit, that's not bad.