Roberts Rewrites Obamacare

Today’s decision in King v. Burwell is notable in many respects.  It is a significant legal victory for the Obama Administration, a victory for purposivist statutory interpretation, a loss for textualism, and a loss for an expansive Chevron doctrine.  In these latter respects, the decision is something of a double-loss for Justice Scalia (which may explain the last line of his opinion).  King also means that, in many respects, the PPACA is now the law that Chief Justice Roberts wrote as here, as in NFIB v. Sebelius, the Chief Justice has decided it is the Court’s job to determine what the statute means — even if this requires ignoring or rewriting text — if such is necessary in order to save it.  The umpire has decided it’s okay to pinch hit to ensure the right team wins.

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