George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley has been retained by the House Republicans and House Speaker John Boehner to represent them in their lawsuit against President Obama over the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Turley, who actually voted for Obama, is best known as a legal contributor with MSNBC.
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John Boehner Spokesperson Michael Steel said, “Professor Turley is a renowned legal scholar who agrees that President Obama has clearly overstepped his constitutional authority, ” said. “He is a natural choice to handle this lawsuit.”
The lawsuit is as of now only a threat since it has yet to be officially filed, but Turley said that it could be filed within a few days.
He wrote on his blog that, “I have agreed to represent the United States House of Representatives in its challenge of unilateral, unconstitutional actions taken by the Obama Administration with respect to implementation of the Affordable Care Act. It is an honor to represent the institution in this historic lawsuit and to work with the talented staff of the House General Counsel’s Office. As in the past, this posting is meant to be transparent about my representation as well as my need to be circumspect about my comments in the future on related stories.”
The Republican Party has attempted to overturn the ACA many times by passing resolutions in the House. But the Democratic majority in the Senate blocked them. Even though the republicans will take over the Senate next year, President Obama will still be able to veto any attempts to undo his signature achievement as President.
Republicans moved for a lawsuit over the White House’s decision last year to give employers a one-year reprieve on enforcing a requirement under the Affordable Care Act that they offer health coverage or pay a penalty. That requirement was delayed until 2015 and then changed to say that employers with between 50 and 99 full-time workers would not be required to comply or pay a fee until 2016.
The Republicans have been looking for a high profile lawyer to represent them for some time, but to no avail.
Drew Hammill, a spokesperson for House Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said, “Even for $500-per-hour in taxpayer dollars, Speaker Boehner has had to scour Washington to find a lawyer willing to file this meritless lawsuit against the president. Now, he’s hired a TV personality for this latest episode of his distraction and dysfunction.”
