Could an Abe Lincoln precedent help Obama save ObamaCare?

An interesting theory has emerged from Chief Justice John Roberts' former clerk

President Obama may want to channel Lincoln.
(Image credit: (Brian Snyder/Reuters/Corbis))

If the Supreme Court decides to strike down a key plank of the Affordable Care Act, is there a way to salvage the law?

William Baude, the distinguished University of Chicago Law professor, says there is. In a New York Times op-ed earlier this week, he argued that President Obama could unilaterally mitigate any negative consequences — including kicking millions of people off health insurance — should the Supreme Court rule in King v. Burwell that the majority of health insurance exchanges established by the federal government cannot offer subsidies to purchasers.

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Scott Lemieux

Scott Lemieux is a professor of political science at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y., with a focus on the Supreme Court and constitutional law. He is a frequent contributor to the American Prospect and blogs for Lawyers, Guns and Money.