In Mid-Pandemic, Trump Challenges Obamacare in Court

On Thursday, in a literal 11th-hour brief, an hour before a midnight deadline, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to invalidate the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, and strip healthcare from 23 million Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thursday also marked the largest single-day increase in diagnosed Coronavirus cases in the U.S. to date, the day when the CDC admitted that coronavirus cases may be 10 times higher than reported.

More:

“Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Strike Down Affordable Care Act,” Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times

“Trump administration asks Supreme Court to strike down Obamacare,” Meagan Flynn and Tim Elfrink, Washington Post

“Trump, Intent on Self-Destruction, Asks Supreme Court to Kill Obamacare,” Ed Kilgore, New York Magazine

Update:

“Obamacare Versus the G.O.P. Zombies,” Paul Krugman, New York Times

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Brett Kavanaugh’s High School Reunion

Mark Judge and “Squi” didn’t show up, but Justice Brett Kavanaugh hung out at Georgetown Prep’s Reunion last weekend, attending Friday’s Stag Night and the Homecoming game on Saturday. There was plenty of beer, but not for the judge:

“At one point during the football game, Justice Kavanaugh prepared to pose for a picture with former classmates. First, though, he instructed everyone to put down their beers, according to a person who witnessed the exchange (Justice Kavanaugh didn’t appear to be drinking.). “

— “Back at Georgetown Prep, Kavanaugh Is Hailed as a Hero,” Kate Kelly, New York Times

More:

“Justice Brett Goes To High School Reunion, Class Praised For Its ‘Loyalty,’” Elie Mystal, Above the Law

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Fraternity Pledge Inducted Into the Supreme Court

Judicial Temperament Tantrum

The shouting is over. Brett Kavanaugh (of Georgetown Prep, Yale legacy admissions, Delta Kappa Epsilon member, and the Federalist Society) was secretly sworn in as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. If you’re keeping score at home, Mr. Kavanaugh is the first justice nominated by a president who lost the popular vote and confirmed by senators representing less than half of the country while a majority of Americans opposed his nomination. God Save the Republic.

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Protesters Outside Mitch McConnell’s House: ‘I Like Beer!’

Beer-swilling protesters … oh wait, it’s a beer festival near DC’s Navy Yard. Great timing.

Demonstrators protesting the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh gathered outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s house in DC this morning, chanting “I Like Beer!” and singing “What do you do with a drunken justice, what do you do with a drunken justice, what do you do with a confirmation early in the morning? Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!” In case you were blacked-out or in a drunken stupor last week, this refers to Judge Kavanaugh’s spirited “I like beer” defense during his Judicial Committee testimony.

There are people drinking PBR from red Solo cups outside Mitch McConnell’s house at this early hour. They are chanting “I like beer.”

— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) October 5, 2018

MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt followed-up, sounding a bit disappointed:  “The promised keg did not materialize.”

In a related development last week, the conservative Federalist Society hosted an “I Still Like Beer” party.

More:

“PBR-Drinking Kavanaugh Protesters Chant Outside McConnell’s Home ‘I Like Beer,'” David Rutz, Washington Free Beacon

“Brett Kavanaugh Protesters Bring Beer, Chant ‘Chug’ Outside Mitch McConnell’s House,” Jenna Amatulli, Huffington Post

“Kavanaugh protesters bring beer, chant ‘chug’ outside McConnell’s home,” Aris Folley, The Hill

Update:

“Kavanaugh supporters drink beer to celebrate his confirmation,” Aris Folley, The Hill

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Georgetown Prep’s New Motto: ‘Amo Cerevisiam’ (‘I Like Beer’)

During his sworn testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh affirmed one thing as true: He really likes beer, and he liked it while he was a student at Georgetown Prep, the pricey Jesuit high school in the DC suburbs. Young Brett even listed himself as “Treasurer of the Keg City Club” in his high school yearbook. Surely Bill Shine, the former Fox News exec who is now White House Communications Director, advised him to declare his love of suds whenever those wine-sipping Democrats questioned him about his heavy drinking, since America’s Joe Sixpacks are Trump’s core voters.

One thing wrong with Brett Kavanaugh’s high school beer drinking: It wasn’t legal. As AP’s Alanna Durkin Richer points out, Maryland’s drinking age was raised to 21 in July 1982, when Brett Kavanaugh was a 17-year-old high school junior. He danced around this fact during committee testimony to avoid perjury, saying senior classmates could drink legally, but all this does is implicate the Georgetown Prep upperclassmen who bought him beer when he was 17.

Mr. Kavanaugh may have technically avoided perjuring himself about this one fact, if not several others, but he clearly has a rather distant relationship with the truth. Hey, we almost wrote this without using the phrase “sober as a judge.”

More:

“Brett Kavanaugh likes beer, but not questions about his drinking habits,” By Allyson Chiu, Washington Post

“Kavanaugh wrongly claims he could drink legally in Maryland,” Alanna Durkin Richer, Associated Press

“Brett Kavanaugh’s slippery answers about high school partying matter,” Matthew Yglesias, Vox

“At the Center of the Kavanaugh Accusations: Heavy Drinking,” Mike McIntire and Ben Protess, New York Times

“Many teens drink. Rich ones like Kavanaugh are more likely to abuse alcohol.” Suniya S. Luthar, Washington Post

“Trump on Kavanaugh: ‘I was surprised at how vocal he was about the fact that he likes beer,'” Caitlin Oprysko, Politico

“Kavanaugh’s High School, Georgetown Prep, Warned Parents in 1990 of ‘Sexual or Violent Behavior’ at Parties,” Jon Schwarz and Camille Baker, The Intercept

Brett Kavanaugh: Perjury?

When Brett Kavanaugh testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee during 2004 confirmation hearings on his DC Circuit Court nomination, he said, under oath, that he had not seen confidential memos regarding the judicial nomination of William Pryor that were pilfered from Democratic senators by GOP staffer Manuel Miranda, and was not involved in Bush White House discussions about the Pryor nomination. Guess what was in the “committee confidential” emails released at 3AM on Thursday? An email about the Pryor nomination.

Showtime!

It’s spectacle showtime for charlatan-in-chief Donald Trump, who’ll select his prime-time pick for America’s next top model Supreme Court justice tonight at 9PM Eastern. Suspense mounts! Which conservative ideologue will win? Who will go home with a consolation prize?

More:

“How Trump turned the US Supreme Court into prime time television,” Ephrat Livni, Quartz

“Trump pushing for another reality-show reveal of Supreme Court pick,” Andrew Restuccia, Politico

“A ‘Supreme’ show: Trump savors big reveal for court choice,” BY Catherine Lucey and Zeke Miller, AP via Charlotte Observer

“Trump’s New Pageant: SCOTUS Pick Will Have To Look ‘All-American,’ Jibe With Trump,” Nicole LaFond, TPM Livewire

“Trump Is Picking His Supreme Court Nominee Like He’s Casting the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition,” Bess Levin, Vanity Fair

“The Supreme Court Show,” Ross Douthat, New York Times

“The most interesting late development in Trump’s Supreme Court derby,” Aaron Blake, Washington Post

Inside Baseball:

“The Five Frontrunners,” Adam Feldman, Empirical SCOTUS

“Trump’s 2018 Supreme Court Shortlist and Their Views on Administrative Law,” Chris Walker, Notice & Comment

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Trump Narrows Supreme Court Picks Down to Three

Drama! Suspense mounts on the reality-TV show known as the Trump presidency as we near the prime time Monday night announcement of Mr. Trump’s nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice Whatshisname. The president has narrowed the list prepared by the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society to three possible nominees, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Raymond Kethledge. While Republicans argue about which one is the most stalwart conservative ideologue, Mr. Trump makes personnel decisions based on a candidate’s looks. That’s certainly worked out well for him so far!

More:

“Trump pushing for another reality-show reveal of Supreme Court pick,” Andrew Restuccia, Politico

“Trump’s New Pageant: SCOTUS Pick Will Have To Look ‘All-American,’ Jibe With Trump,” Nicole LaFond, TPM Livewire

“Trump Is Picking His Supreme Court Nominee Like He’s Casting the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition,” Bess Levin, Vanity Fair

“The Supreme Court Show,” Ross Douthat, New York Times

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Trump Supreme Court Pick: Worst TV Game Show Ever

President Donald Trump has accepted the resignation of Supreme Court Justice Whatshisname, and scheduled the announcement of his replacement nominee for July 9th. The president will ponder this momentous decision while spending the July 4th weekend in his Fortress of Solitude Trump Bedminster National Golf Club in New Jersey. There is said to be a shortlist of 5 possible contenders, none of them Gary Busey or Meat Loaf. “I may have two of them come up, like the old days to Bedminster,” said the president, “could be this weekend…It is exciting.” Suspense! Imagine the ratings. May the best conservative ideologue win!

There will be no swimsuit competition, even though two of the candidates are women. Senate Democrats and civil rights groups are asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to delay the confirmation vote until after the midterm elections, but he just smiles.

More:

“Supreme Court Announcement Scheduled Just Like The World’s Worst Game Show,” Joe Patrice, Above the Law

“It’s ‘The Apprentice, Supreme Court Edition,’ as Trump Summons Finalists to White House,” Maggie Haberman, Michael M. Grynbaum, and Ron Nixon, New York Times

“Online bettors see Kavanaugh as likely U.S. Supreme Court nominee,” Reuters

“Chuck Todd: GOP ‘may fully pull that hypocrisy muscle’ by confirming SCOTUS pick in election year,” Jacqueline Thomsen, The Hill

“Mitch McConnell shows there’s no honor among Supreme Court thieves,” Scot Lehigh, Boston Globe

Updates:

“Trump Narrows Supreme Court Shortlist To 3 — With 2 On The Inside Track,” Nina Totenberg, NPR

“Gamblers betting on Kavanaugh as Trump’s Supreme Court pick,” Matthew Nussbaum, Politico

Related:

“Just Like LeBron James, Justice Anthony Kennedy Is Now A ‘Free Agent,’” Staci Zaretsky, Above the Law

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Supreme Court on Muslim Ban: So What?

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court upheld the 3rd version of the Trump ban on travel from 5 Muslim counties without Trump business ties. North Korea and Venezuela were added to this version for camouflage, and the ruse seems to have worked. Now that Mr. Trump is besties with Kim Jong-un, we expect NK to drop off the list any day.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Roberts held that President Trump’s tweeted and blustered statements about the ban’s anti-Muslim intent were not indications of the measure’s anti-Muslim intent. Justice Sonia Sotomayor disagrees, as does common sense.

More:

“The anti-Muslim travel ban is constitutional, say Supreme Court conservatives,” Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post

“’Motivated by Anti-Muslim Animus’: Must-Reads From Justice Sotomayor’s Dissent on Trump’s Travel Ban,” San Spinelli, Mother Jones

“The Supreme Court’s Green Light to Discriminate,” Adam Serwer, The Atlantic

“John Roberts just validated religious discrimination,” Dana Milbank, Washington Post

“The surprisingly low standard the Supreme Court used to review Trump’s travel ban,” Ana Campoy, Quartz

“An awful, constitutional travel ban: The Supreme Court says a terrible Trump policy is within his authority to implement,” NY Daily News

“The Supreme Court upheld Trump’s travel ban by pretending Trump isn’t the president,” Dara Lind, Vox

“A Failure of Judicial Independence,” Garrett Epps, The Atlantic

“The travel ban decision echoes some of the worst Supreme Court decisions in history,” Aziz Huq, Vox

“A Decision That Will Live in Infamy,” Noah Feldman, Bloomberg

“Move over, Dred Scott,” David D. Cole, Washington Post

“Supreme Court Confirms That We Are A Bigoted Nation,” Elie Mystal, Above The Law

“Bigoted and Feckless, the Travel Ban Is Pure Trump,” New York Times editorial

“Opinion analysis: Divided court upholds Trump travel ban,” Amy Howe, SCOTUSblog [long]

Related:

“The US Supreme Court finally overruled the case that justified Japanese internment,” Ephrat Livni, Quartz

“One Really Good Thing in the Supreme Court’s Travel-Ban Ruling: Korematsu Is Gone,” Amy Davidson Sorkin, The New Yorker

“Travel-ban ruling could embolden Trump in remaking the U.S. immigration system,” David Nakamura, Washington Post

“The Supreme Court’s travel ban decision is a reminder: midterm elections matter,” Ezra Klein, Vox

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