Jeb Bush has an ObamaCare problem

This could get awkward. Since wrapping up his tenure as Florida governor seven years ago, Jeb Bush has been quietly building a fortune for himself, raking in millions of dollars from consulting gigs, real estate investments, and that staple for out-of-office politicians, speeches.

Yet Bush has also netted more than $2 million from his work as a board member with Tenet Health Care, according to The New York Times' Michael Barbaro. That tie could prove troublesome for Bush if he runs for president in 2016 because Tenet, Barbaro writes, "aggressively encouraged Americans to sign up for insurance under the [Affordable Care Act] and trumpeted the legislation as a boon to the company’s finances."

Though Bush is no fan of the law — he once called it "flawed to its core" — his association with a group that effusively endorsed it could be a stain on his resume. ObamaCare is such an anathema to conservatives and the Tea Party that there are efforts afoot to oust members of the party leadership who refused to play along with the government shutdown last year in an ill-fated attempt to defund the law.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

That anger on the right could subside somewhat come 2016, especially if ObamaCare continues to enroll people in bunches. Still, it's not hard to imagine Bush's GOP opponents, should he run for president, ganging up on him for his association with Tenet, much like Mitt Romney's foes beat up on him for signing off on Massachusetts' health-care overhaul.