President Obama Posits Himself as All Three Branches in One

In response to a question at a press conference today following the G7 summit in Germany, President Obama commented on the pending decision in the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s U.S. Supreme Court case King v. Burwell:

“And so this should be an easy case.  Frankly, it probably shouldn’t even have been taken up.  And since we’re going to get a ruling pretty quick, I think it’s important for us to go ahead and assume that the Supreme Court is going to do what most legal scholars who’ve looked at this would expect them to do.”

Lawson Bader, president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), which is coordinating the King v. Burwell case, responded:

“While President Obama’s healthcare law and his legacy may be near and dear to his heart, in the United States our system of government does not give any President or administration the authority to re-write laws, as the IRS attempted to do in this instance with Obamacare. Nor does it allow the President to determine which cases the U.S. Supreme Court takes up or how it rules. Rather, and for good reason, the Constitution directs both Congress and the Supreme Court to serve as checks and balances on the administration.

“The American people deserve a fair system in which the Supreme Court – and even more so the law – is respected. The rule of law is a critical safeguard against tyranny in this country, and protecting it is equivalent to protecting Americans’ freedoms. President Obama’s remarks, undermining both Congress and our nation’s highest Court, do nothing but damage one of our fundamental tenets of democracy and we hope the President will reconsider his views of his role and the role of our government.” 

President Obama went on to claim that Obamacare is working well despite well-known problems suggesting the contrary, while avoiding discussion of what would happen if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the King plaintiffs.

To see the full transcript of President Obama’s statements click here.

To see more about CEI’s work on King v. Burwell click here