Pelosi: Trump wants to "crush" ACA with Ginsburg replacement
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that President Trump is rushing to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg because he "wants to crush the Affordable Care Act."
Why it matters: Pelosi wants to steer the conversation around the potential Ginsburg replacement to health care, which polls show is a top issue for voters, especially amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Trump administration has urged the courts to strike down the law, and with it, protections for millions with pre-existing conditions.
What she's saying: "He doesn't want to crush the virus, he wants to crush the Affordable Care Act," Pelosi said on Sunday.
- "So again, in terms of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, any one of us who knew her, who loved her, who respected her — and that includes almost anybody who had an appreciation for greatness — mourn her loss, but would want us to move forward to protect the people who are sick, those with coronavirus who ... millions of them now have a pre-existing condition."
- "That's what the president wants to crush when he says he wants to replace ... the justice in this short period of time."
Background: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the constitutionality of the ACA on Nov. 10, one week after the general election.
- In 2017, 20 Republican attorneys general sued to get rid of the ACA, with the Trump administration's support, charging that because Congress had repealed the individual mandate, the entire law was no longer valid.
- The law has worked its way back to the Supreme Court after a federal judge ruled the law was unconstitutional and an appeals court said the law's individual mandate was unconstitutional.
- If the ACA is struck down, it could potentially have ramifications for millions of Americans who get their health insurance through the law.
