Obama first learned of court ruling from cable TV
Washington (CNN) – A calm President Barack Obama received the news of the Supreme Court's health care ruling while just outside the Oval Office Thursday, senior administration officials said.
After first learning, from a TV with four split screens, that the individual mandate section of the law was struck down, the president waited on word from his staff.
- Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker
White House Counsel Kathy Ruemmler entered the "outer Oval Office" to give him two thumbs up, which prompted a quizzical look from the president given what he saw reported on two cable television stations, CNN and Fox News.
Ruemmler told him the news, which she learned from reading the website SCOTUSBlog and a White House lawyer inside the high court, and enthusiasm ensued, according to the officials. She told the president the Affordable Care Act was upheld, with five justices finding it valid under Congress' taxing power.
Displaying a smile, the president hugged Ruemmler. The top White House lawyer returned to her office, by which point the news stations had corrected their reporting, and returned to the Oval Office within the hour to deliver a more complete read on the ruling to the president.
Obama's first call was to Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, who argued the case for the administration, to congratulate him.
- Check out the CNN Electoral Map and Calculator and game out your own strategy for November.
Also see:
McCaskill to skip Democratic convention
Poll: Obama, Romney race still tight
From CNN Politics
- Democratic candidates face most diverse electorate so far in Nevada caucuses February 22, 2020 04:02 pm
- 6 things to watch in tonight's Nevada caucuses February 22, 2020 05:14 am
- How to watch the Nevada Democratic caucuses February 22, 2020 02:28 pm
- Trump's unbroken pattern of disdain for the rule of law February 22, 2020 04:48 pm
- Intelligence community feels immediate impact of Trump's diplomatic 'disruptor' February 22, 2020 02:21 pm
- Sanders told Russia is trying to help his campaign February 22, 2020 03:39 am
Hey you all might want to take a step back and research how many jobs Obama has sent overseas
Should hv been watching current tv. Stephine miller and jackie shindler had it right!
Myviewis
Woman In California
A calm President Barack Obama
Just what I voted for and I am LOVING the hope and change.
----------
Congratulations! Democrats win. You win. I am glad to have read that you have a very good paying job. I am sure the attorneys in your office have analyzed this new Tax well and as employers have prepared for it. Unfortunately, most small businesses in the US don't make the big bucks like your law firm makes so we'll have to see what happens to the employees of small businesses.
You are so typical of a Willard stooge. A stalker and a talker. Nothing more.
Myviewis – Don't like facts, do you? There is no mechanism in place to enforce the tax. That means there is NO tax.
Does fair and balanced include reporting the news wrong? Oh, surely not – I'm sure they talked all day how they had reported the news wrong.
I'm surprised he didn't learn about it from the howing from the GOP. They immediately responded by charging Atty. Gen. Holder with contempt of Congress. Hell, might as well check around. A lot of us have contempt for Congress right now. The GOP has done everything but the one thing they promised the American people – jobs, jobs, jobs. They have not put forth one bill to achieve this. Liars. There see, I'm in contempt again.
Mary, Obama has sent jobs overseas? Back that up with some facts other that FIX NEWS. I think it's all Romney's rich wall street friends that are trying to increase their bonuses with overseas cheap labor. Most of the employess working overseas tied to Obama are troops. And Bush sent them over there. Obama is trying to get them back.
Even Aljazeera got it right
Mary, while you at it, how about telling us how many jobs Romney send overseas with Bain and as Governor. I couldn’t believe hearing Romney, as Governor, used tax payer money to outsource state jobs to another country. If he wins, how many federal jobs will he send to China?
Obama/ Biden 2012
Hey Mary. Looks like he brought home a lot of jobs too. There were a lot of them coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq.
That's a President!
Still waiting on those tax forms Mittens....and why are you hiding money in offshore accounts?
OBAMA 2012!