It was announced Monday that Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) will chair a hearing this week on the constitutionality of the healthcare law. The news follows a federal judge’s recommendation that the law be voided on the grounds that Congress may not require Americans to purchase health insurance.
The office of the number two Senate Democrat released a statement describing what the hearing will entail.
“Durbin, one of the law’s biggest proponents, will argue that the bill is constitutional and that legal challenges to the legislation are driven by partisan opposition to its reforms.”
In both cases so far in which rulings have gone against the Obama administration’s lawyers, the judge has been a Republican appointee.
Durbin, one of the most ardent supporters of the law, will reportedly hear testimony on Wednesday from legal experts, a pair of former solicitors general and the Democratic Attorney General of Oregon.