Politics

Obama and Roberts legacies intertwined in health care law

Published

11 years ago

June 27, 2015

FILE – In this Jan. 20, 2013, file photo, President Barack Obama is officially sworn-in by Chief Justice John Roberts in the Blue Room of the White House during the 57th Presidential Inauguration in Washington. Next to Obama are first lady Michelle Obama, holding the Robinson Family Bible, and daughters Malia and Sasha. The chief justice who mangled Obamas oath of office has helped the president yet again on his signature achievement, his health care law. After an awkward first encounter, these two Harvard Law graduates who rose to high positions of power from opposite ends of the political spectrum are bound together in the legacy of a law that the president says has now been “woven into the fabric of America” and that Roberts may not even personally support. (AP Photo/Pool, Charles Dharapak, File)

By Nancy Benac and Jim Kuhnhenn (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The chief justice who once mangled President Barack Obama’s oath of office has once again helped rescue the president’s signature achievement, his health care law.

After an awkward first encounter, these two Harvard Law graduates who rose to high positions of power from opposite ends of the political spectrum are bound together in the legacy of a law that the president says has now been “woven into the fabric of America” and that Roberts may not even personally support.

It was Roberts who wrote the majority opinion in Thursday’s 6-3 ruling that preserved a critical element of the health care law. And it was Roberts who provided the critical vote to uphold the legal underpinnings of the Affordable Care Act in a 5-4 ruling in 2012.

“This will be a part of them both,” predicted Harvard’s Laurence Tribe, the constitutional scholar who once had Roberts as a student and later hired Obama as a research assistant.

Tribe, a supporter of the health care law, called it a kind of “kismet” that didn’t have to happen that way.

This second ruling by Roberts may well have been easier for him than the first: This time, he was the sixth vote, with Justice Anthony Kennedy along for the ride and providing a cushion. And it only made sense that Roberts would back the law rather than gut it, when he’d already been savaged by conservatives for his ruling three years ago.

Critics of the health care law were nonetheless quick to castigate the latest decision, although many of those in Congress went the route of championing Justice Antonin Scalia’s dissent rather than focusing on the chief justice personally.

House Speaker John Boehner, an ardent critic of the health care law, batted away a question about whether he was disappointed in Roberts, saying, “I’ll let the legal beagles around the country debate the chief justice of the Supreme Court.”

Likewise, the White House shied away from addressing the Obama-Roberts connection, with press secretary Josh Earnest referring to the “business relationship” that the two men have in their respective roles.

Valerie Jarrett, Obama’s senior adviser, put the ruling in a historical perspective. “There’s a long history on the Supreme Court of justices exercising their independence,” she said. “That’s part of why they have lifetime appointments. You want to free them up from feeling politically beholden.”

But not everyone was ready to accept the ruling as evidence of Roberts’ judicial independence.

Carrie Severino, chief counsel to the conservative Judicial Crisis Network and a former law clerk for Justice Clarence Thomas, said the “the two biggest losers today are the English language and the legacy of Chief Justice Roberts.”

“If the chief justice is willing to join the court’s liberals in this linguistic farce, it’s time we admitted that our national ‘umpire’ is now playing for one of the teams,” she said, referring to Roberts’ description of a judge as one who impartially calls balls and strikes.

Larry Klayman, head of the conservative group Freedom Watch, said the six justices in the majority had “violated their own long-established rules of interpretation for applying statutes to instead advance their own political objectives or burnish their public persona. … The justices abandoned the rule of law and have become merely a political focus group.”

Ten years ago, when Obama was the junior U.S. senator from Illinois, he had his own reservations about the future chief justice. Obama said he feared Roberts would favor the powerful over the weak, and voted against his confirmation. He said Roberts was qualified in temperament and scholarship for most of what comes before the high court, but not for those truly difficult cases where “the critical ingredient is supplied by what is in the judge’s heart.”

Tribe speculated that Roberts is no fan of the health care law, “but I don’t think he had any difficulty voting the way he did.”

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Associated Press writers Mark Sherman, Erica Werner and Julie Pace contributed to this report.

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Following Nancy Benac on Twitter at http://twitter.com/nbenac and Jim Kuhnhenn at http://twitter.com/jkuhnhenn

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Oakland Post: Week of September 2 – 8, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 2 – 8, 2026

Published

3 days ago

September 7, 2026

Oakland Post

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Longtime BWOPA Member Brendalyn Goodall Appointed to California Workforce Development Board

Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed longtime Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) member Brendalynn Goodall to the California Workforce Development Board. Goodall, an Oakland resident with decades of experience in public service, has held leadership positions focused on

Published

2 weeks ago

August 30, 2026

Post News Group

Post Co-Publisher Gay Plair Cobb with Brendalynn Goodall. Courtesy photo.

By California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed longtime Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) member Brendalynn Goodall to the California Workforce Development Board.

Goodall, an Oakland resident with decades of experience in public service, has held leadership positions focused on employment, aging services and assistance for underserved communities.

“Brendalynn will be a great addition to this Board,” said Gay Plair Cobb, who served as former state Assemblyman Sandre Swanson’s alternate to the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB).

“She understands that California’s non-profit organizations serve persons who have the most significant barriers to their labor market success and that the Board should help these groups navigate the complicated requirements of state funding.

“In other words, she will be a strong advocate for our most marginalized populations. Her voice is needed now, more than ever.”

CWDB works with the governor to shape workforce policies, programs and investments designed to strengthen the state’s economy. It collaborates with employers, workers, labor organizations, educational institutions, community groups and California’s 45 local workforce development boards to expand access to quality jobs and respond to regional employment needs.

According to the board, its work includes coordinating state programs and guiding investments in workforce training and development.

BWOPA California celebrated the appointment, describing Goodall as a dedicated advocate for workers, families and older adults.

“Her appointment reflects a lifetime of leadership, service, and unwavering commitment to strengthening California’s workforce and expanding opportunity for all,” the organization stated in a press release.

Goodall served as summer jobs program coordinator in the Oakland Mayor’s Office from 2012 to 2014. In that position, she helped connect young people with employment opportunities and job experience.

Before joining the Mayor’s Office, Goodall was division manager for Aging and Adult Services in the City of Oakland Human Services Department from 2002 to 2011. She previously served as senior services supervisor and program director for the city’s Department of Aging, Health and Human Services from 1990 to 2002.

Goodall is also a member of the California Commission on Aging, which advises the governor and state officials on policies and programs affecting older Californians.

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‘Passing a Law Isn’t The Finish Line’: California Assembly Evaluates Implementation, Results

A separate review found that the California Public Utilities Commission’s implementation of AB 2316 had not fulfilled the law’s intent or produced new community solar projects. In response, Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego) introduced AB 1813, legislation to overhaul the state’s renewable energy program and increase access to solar technology.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 30, 2026

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California State Assembly Chamber. Photo courtesy of California State Assembly.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

California lawmakers are finding that laws passed in Sacramento do not always work as intended once implemented. A new Assembly oversight program has identified gaps in laws addressing wildfire recovery, insurance, foster care and clean energy.

Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) announced Aug. 17 that the Assembly had completed the first year of its Outcomes Review program. Billed as the first initiative of its kind in the nation, the program enlisted 15 Assembly members to evaluate 14 laws they authored or championed. Through public hearings and community meetings, lawmakers assessed whether the measures were producing their intended results.

“Passing a law isn’t the finish line,” said Rivas. “The Outcomes Review project makes sure we’re checking our work.”

The reviews identified both successes and shortcomings. The expansion of telehealth largely improved access to care and provided patients with greater flexibility. Affordable housing financing reforms also strengthened coordination among state agencies and could reduce duplicative paperwork, development costs and delays.

Other reviews uncovered more significant implementation problems.

One focused on Assembly Bill (AB) 238, which was enacted after the Eaton and Palisades fires to provide eligible borrowers with up to 12 months of emergency mortgage forbearance. The review found lender noncompliance, insufficient consumer complaint data and a need for stronger coordination between state and federal agencies.

Those findings helped shape AB 1842 and AB 1847, both victim-protection bills that are currently pending in the Senate.

After discovering that California’s FAIR Plan clearinghouse was failing to transition affected homeowners back into the private insurance market, Assemblymember Lisa Calderon (D-Whittier) introduced AB 69 to fix the issue.

Lawmakers also found that the FAIR Plan clearinghouse was not effectively helping homeowners move into the traditional insurance market, prompting the introduction of AB 69, legislation adding new reporting, notification, and access requirements.

The program identified additional implementation problems related to foster care placement protections, oversight of charitable fundraising and wage theft enforcement.

Rivas said the findings demonstrate the need for lawmakers to continue evaluating legislation after it takes effect.

“This isn’t oversight for its own sake — it’s what accountability looks like, and we’re just getting started,” he said.

The Assembly plans to expand the Outcomes Review program in 2027 by involving more lawmakers and holding additional public hearings and community meetings. The next phase, according to Rivas, will build on the pilot year as lawmakers seek to identify implementation problems earlier and improve how state laws work in practice.