A pro-ObamaCare group has launched the first television ad focused on health care in the fight over the next Supreme Court justice.
The Protect Our Care ad tells viewers that President Trump could nominate a Supreme Court justice who opposes ObamaCare — specifically its protections for those with pre-existing conditions, like diabetes and asthma.
{mosads}”This is an emergency,” the narrator says.
“Trump and Mitch McConnell have a plan to install a Supreme Court justice who will overturn those protections,” the ad continues, referring to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
The ad refers to a lawsuit brought by Republican attorneys general against the Trump administration targeting ObamaCare, arguing Congress’s recent repeal of the individual mandate to have health insurance makes the whole law unconstitutional.
The Department of Justice opted not to defend ObamaCare in court, siding in part with the attorneys general that some parts of the law, like its pre-existing conditions protections, are unconstitutional. Arguments for the case have not yet been scheduled.
Legal experts say it’s unlikely the lawsuit will succeed.
The Supreme Court already ruled that ObamaCare was constitutional in 2012, but the Republican attorneys general say that needs to be reconsidered after Congress repealed the individual mandate penalty.
The Protect Our Care ad will air this week in Anchorage, Alaska, and Bangor, Maine, targeting the constituents of two Republican senators who are expected to be key votes in the Senate confirmation fight: Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins.