99-627: Kenneth Thomas "Cooch” Cuccinelli II ( / ˌ k uː tʃ ɪ ˈ n ɛ l i / KOO -chin- EL -ee ; born July 30, 1968) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the senior official performing the duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party , he also served as the Principal Deputy and Senior Official Performing the Duties of
198-477: A 0.3-point margin, a difference of just 92 votes out of about 37,000 votes cast. In 2009 , Cuccinelli was selected as the Republican nominee for attorney general, going on to win 58% of the vote (1,123,816 votes). Republican Bob McDonnell became governor, and Bill Bolling was re-elected as lieutenant governor. Cuccinelli was inaugurated on January 16, 2010. In 2010, Cuccinelli was the first attorney general to file
297-463: A challenge to the tax is pending. Congress's motivation in passing the act was to prevent the starvation of the federal treasury while tax issues are being litigated before the courts. Instead, Congress requires a taxpayer who challenges any tax to first pay that tax, and only afterwards is the taxpayer allowed to bring suit and seek a refund. Challengers of the Affordable Care Act maintained that
396-853: A court ruling based on the applicant's past actions. In the 2009 legislative session, a bill Cuccinelli introduced was passed that, for the purposes of granting a Virginia concealed handgun permit, required the state to accept as proof of "handgun competence" any certificate from an online handgun safety course featuring an NRA Certified instructor. Cuccinelli believes that mental illness is the root cause of mass shootings, and that they can be better prevented with more access to mental health care. He has pushed for restricting mentally ill persons from obtaining guns. Cuccinelli has been described as an immigration hard-liner. He has supported President Trump's anti-immigration policies. While in Virginia politics, Cuccinelli pushed legislation to force employees to speak English in
495-595: A decision confirming that his appointment as Acting Deputy Secretary illegal on this basis. Cuccinelli was appointed as a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force on January 29, 2020. In July 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Department of Homeland Security announced that international students in the United States would be deported unless they took in-person classes at universities in
594-540: A decision which he reversed after public outcry, and complaints from some patients in the U.S. for medical care that they would die if deported to their home countries. On March 1, 2020, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Cuccinelli's appointment as USCIS director was illegal because the newly created principal deputy director role did not count as a "first assistant" under
693-570: A federal lawsuit ( Virginia v. Sebelius ) challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). During his 2013 run for governor, Cuccinelli opposed the ACA's Medicaid expansion . In July 2010, Cuccinelli joined eight other states in filing an amicus brief opposing the federal government's lawsuit challenging an Arizona immigration enforcement statute. In August 2010, Cuccinelli authorized law enforcement officials to investigate
792-451: A general practice law firm in Fairfax, Virginia . Cuccinelli ran for the state Senate in the 37th District in an August 2002 special election . He defeated Democrat Catherine Belter 55%–45%. In 2003, he was re-elected to his first full term, defeating Democrat Jim E. Mitchell III 53% to 47%. In 2007, he barely won re-election to his second full term, narrowly defeating Democrat Janet Oleszek by
891-522: A mandate that individuals maintain minimum essential coverage, enforced by a penalty. The dissent also disputed Ginsburg's claim that the court's opinion failed "to explain why the individual mandate threatens our constitutional order": [The individual mandate] threatens that order because it gives such an expansive meaning to the Commerce Clause that all private conduct (including failure to act) becomes subject to federal control, effectively destroying
990-447: A national bank", ante, at 34–35. Is not the power to compel purchase of health insurance much lesser? No, not if (unlike those other dispositions) its application rests upon a theory that everything is within federal control simply because it exists. Finally, the joint dissent argued that since the ACA exceeded its constitutional powers in both compelling the purchase of health insurance and in denying non-consenting States Medicaid funding,
1089-497: A run for any particular office at the moment. Ken is operating under the assumption that he will run for reelection [in 2013]. He hasn't ruled out any option besides running for president, which he has no desire to do." On November 30, 2011, The Washington Post reported that Cuccinelli would announce within days that he was running for governor in 2013; the next day, Cuccinelli confirmed that he would run. Cuccinelli said he would continue serving as attorney general during his run. He
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#17328700053311188-424: A state senator, he advanced legislation to make abortion clinics subject to the same health and safety standards as outpatient surgical hospitals. He supported two "personhood" bills that sought to provide human embryos with legal rights. In 2010, Cuccinelli made statements that appeared to question whether President Barack Obama was born in the United States . He later backed away from the statements. Cuccinelli
1287-815: A tax, then it may fall within Congress's taxing authority. Justice Ginsburg concurred in the judgment in part and dissented in part. Joined by Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan, she would have upheld the individual mandate under the Commerce Clause and Necessary and Proper Clause: Congress had a rational basis for concluding that the uninsured, as a class, substantially affect interstate commerce. Those without insurance consume billions of dollars of health-care products and services each year. Those goods are produced, sold, and delivered largely by national and regional companies who routinely transact business across state lines. The uninsured also cross state lines to receive care. Further, joined only by Sotomayor, she dissented on striking down
1386-494: A three-day period, from March 26 to March 28, 2012, covering the various aspects being questioned by the principal parties involved in this and other related cases concerning the ACA. The court first heard argument on whether the Anti-Injunction Act, which limits suits "for the purpose of restraining the assessment or collection of any tax", barred a decision before the ACA fully entered into force in 2014. Since neither
1485-492: A visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation , where he authored five commentary essays for the foundation in 2021 before leaving the foundation at some unannounced date. In 2023, Cuccinelli authored the chapter on the Department of Homeland Security in the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 book, Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise. Cuccinelli opposes a right to terminate a pregnancy. In November 2008 he
1584-457: A vote of 5–4 the individual mandate to buy health insurance as a constitutional exercise of Congress's power under the Taxing and Spending Clause (taxing power). A majority of the justices, including Roberts, agreed that the individual mandate was not a proper use of Congress's Commerce Clause or Necessary and Proper Clause powers, although they did not join in a single opinion. A majority of
1683-491: A whistleblower complaint released in September 2020, Cuccinelli ordered the intelligence branch at DHS to modify its intelligence assessments to downplay the threat posed by white supremacy groups and to instead focus on "left-wing" groups, such as the antifa movement. Another whistleblower complaint, filed February 1, 2021, asserted that on January 19, 2021, the day before Biden's inauguration, Cuccinelli signed an agreement with
1782-401: Is a longtime advocate for gun rights . sponsored legislation to repeal the prohibition on carrying a concealed handgun in a restaurant or club, for Virginia to recognize concealed handgun permits from other states, and to shield concealed handgun permit application data from Freedom of Information Act requests. Under Cuccinelli's proposal a person could only be disqualified for such a permit by
1881-406: Is empowered to appropriate funds as it sees fit. When the 110th Congress reached a conclusion about Medicaid funds that differed from its predecessors' view, it abridged no State's right to "existing", or "pre-existing", funds. ... For, in fact, there are no such funds. There is only money States anticipate receiving from future Congresses. Ginsburg's dissent went on to highlight the implications of
1980-689: Is paid $ 168,000 annually. Rand Beers served as acting deputy secretary in his capacity as Undersecretary of Homeland Security for National Protection and Programs . Rafael Borras served as acting deputy secretary in his capacity as Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management . Russell Deyo served as acting deputy secretary in his capacity as Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management . Claire Grady served as acting deputy secretary in her capacity as Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management . David Pekoske served as acting deputy secretary in his capacity as Administrator of
2079-427: Is the first attorney general since 1985 to remain in office while seeking the governorship rather than resign the position while seeking the office, a precedent that the last six attorneys general to run for governor have adhered to. Cuccinelli lost to Terry McAuliffe on November 5, 2013, by 56,435 votes, or 2.5% of total ballots cast. The Libertarian Party candidate, Robert Sarvis , received 146,084 votes, or 6.5% of
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#17328700053312178-415: Is thus not a direct tax that must be apportioned among the several States." Even where one views an individual's decision to self-insure as economic inactivity, the safety that such an omission to act provides from Congress's commerce power does not similarly apply to taxation. The Court provided three reasons that Congress's use of its taxing power in this manner was not troubling: As Roberts concluded for
2277-613: The 2020 presidential election , according to emails obtained by American Oversight through a FOIA request , Cuccinelli exchanged emails with Ginni Thomas regarding election fraud conspiracies. United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security The deputy secretary of homeland security is the chief operating officer of the United States Department of Homeland Security , with responsibility for managing day-to-day operations. The department has over 208,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $ 48.5 billion. If
2376-638: The Democratic nominee, Terry McAuliffe . A self-described opponent of homosexuality , Cuccinelli in his position as Virginia Attorney General defended anti-sodomy laws and prohibitions on same-sex marriage . Cuccinelli rejects the scientific consensus on climate change , and in his position as Attorney General investigated climate scientists whom he accused of fraud. Characterized as an immigration hard-liner, Cuccinelli sought to prohibit undocumented immigrants from attending universities, repeal birthright citizenship , and force employees to speak English in
2475-636: The Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 because he had never served in a subordinate role to any other USCIS official. This decision caused the suspension of all directives issued by him. On November 13, 2019, newly sworn-in Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf named Cuccinelli to be the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security . Cuccinelli continued to serve concurrently in
2574-531: The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (HCERA), including a requirement for most Americans to pay a penalty for forgoing health insurance by 2014. The Acts represented a major set of changes to the American health care system that had been the subject of highly contentious debate , largely divided on political party lines. The Supreme Court, in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts , upheld by
2673-465: The National Federation of Independent Business , claiming that the sweeping reform law was unconstitutional for various reasons. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to three cases, totaling 5½ hours of oral arguments: National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (which consolidated a part of Florida v. Dept. of Health and Human Services ) on the issues of the constitutionality of
2772-597: The Tax Anti-Injunction Act and individual mandate penalty, judgment was for the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services . With respect to the Medicaid expansion, judgment was for the challenging states. All the justices were in rough agreement that the Anti-Injunction Act did not apply. Five justices (Roberts, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan) joined an opinion as to this. One combination of five justices (Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito) were of
2871-527: The Transportation Security Administration . Ken Cuccinelli served as the senior official performing the duties of deputy secretary in his capacity as acting director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services . His tenure was ruled unlawful . Kristie Canegallo served as acting deputy secretary in her capacity as chief of staff. Virginia v. Sebelius (2) The individual mandate provision of
2970-604: The U.S. Court of Appeals struck down Virginia's anti-sodomy law , finding it unconstitutional based on the Supreme Court's 2003 ruling in Lawrence v. Texas . On June 25, 2013, Cuccinelli filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court , but in October 2013 the Supreme Court denied Cuccinelli's appeal. On November 24, 2010, Cuccinelli issued a legal opinion that police, school administrators, and teachers could search students' cell phones on
3069-695: The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in June 2019, allowing him to become the Acting Director. As the administrator of USCIS, Cuccinelli was in charge of the systems for legal immigration and naturalization. He said that he regarded access to immigration as a privilege, not a right, and that "We are not a benefit agency, we are a vetting agency." Cuccinelli was appointed Acting Director when leading Senators indicated he had little chance of Senate confirmation as permanent director. He
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3168-401: The constitutionality of the law. On January 31, 2011, Judge Roger Vinson ruled that the mandatory health insurance " individual mandate "—the provision of Internal Revenue Code section 5000A imposing a "shared responsibility penalty" on nearly all Americans who fail to purchase health insurance—was outside the power of Congress . Vinson also held that the mandate could not be severed from
3267-557: The individual mandate and the severability of any unconstitutional provisions, Dept. of Health and Human Services v. Florida on the issue of whether review was barred by the Anti-Injunction Act , and Florida v. Dept. of Health and Human Services on the matter of the constitutionality of the Medicaid expansion. The state of Florida filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Health and Human Services , challenging
3366-471: The secretary of homeland security dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office, the deputy secretary is to serve as an acting secretary. The deputy secretary is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate . The position of Deputy Secretary was created along with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002. The deputy secretary
3465-467: The ACA functions constitutionally as a tax, and is therefore a valid exercise of Congress's taxing power . (3) Congress exceeded its Spending Clause authority by coercing states into a transformative change in their Medicaid programs by threatening to revoke all of their Medicaid funding if they did not participate in the Medicaid expansion, which would have an excessive impact on a state's budget. Congress may withhold from states refusing to comply with
3564-514: The ACA's Medicaid expansion provision only the additional funding for Medicaid provided under the ACA. National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius , 567 U.S. 519 (2012), is a landmark United States Supreme Court decision in which the Court upheld Congress's power to enact most provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly called Obamacare, and
3663-620: The Constitution's division of governmental powers. Thus the dissent, on the theories proposed for the validity of the Mandate, would alter the accepted constitutional relation between the individual and the National Government. The dissent protests that the Necessary and Proper Clause has been held to include "the power to enact criminal laws, ... the power to imprison, ... and the power to create
3762-544: The Court: The Affordable Care Act's requirement that certain individuals pay a financial penalty for not obtaining health insurance may reasonably be characterized as a tax. Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness. As stated above, seven justices agreed in judgment for the states against the Department of Health and Human Services on
3861-458: The DHS's intelligence arm, making it unnecessary for it to get approval from the DHS's civil liberties office in producing intelligence products. Since the change, the DHS's intelligence arm began compiling intelligence reports on journalists who covered the deployment of DHS agents to Portland, Oregon. The intelligence arm also documented communications between protestors on the app Telegram. According to
3960-658: The Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and was Attorney General of Virginia from 2010 to 2014. He previously served in the Virginia Senate , representing the 37th district in Fairfax County from 2002 until 2010, and as the 46th attorney general of Virginia from 2010 until 2014. Cuccinelli was the Republican nominee for Governor of Virginia in the 2013 Virginia gubernatorial election , losing to
4059-637: The March 2010 standards for motor vehicle fuel efficiency specified in the Clean Air Act . In April 2010, as part of the Attorney General of Virginia's climate science investigation , Cuccinelli served a civil investigative demand on the University of Virginia seeking a broad range of documents related to climate researcher Michael E. Mann . On August 30, 2010, Judge Paul M. Peatross Jr. ruled that "the nature of
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4158-513: The Medicaid expansion penalty, arguing that it was within Congress's power under the Spending Clause: At bottom, my colleagues' position is that the States' reliance on federal funds limits Congress's authority to alter its spending programs. This gets things backwards: Congress, not the States, is tasked with spending federal money in service of the general welfare. And each successive Congress
4257-658: The Republican nomination. However, in April 2016, Cuccinelli announced that he would not run for governor in 2017. In May 2016, Cuccinelli was named general counsel of the FreedomWorks Foundation, where he helps state attorneys general who want to oppose a federal regulation. In January 2017, Cuccinelli filed a legal brief on behalf of the Virginia Poverty Law Center, challenging a 2015 law which freezes base electricity rates charged by Dominion Power , one of
4356-554: The Secretary of Health and Human Services to withhold federal payments to state Medicaid plans that were not in compliance with statutory requirements. The seven justices were in agreement that the Secretary's existing ability to withhold all funds from noncompliant plans, coupled with the substantial coverage changes enacted by the Title X amendments, amounted to an unconstitutionally coercive use of Congress's spending power, given that Congress
4455-466: The Social Security Act, as amended, holding that the ability given to the Secretary by statute to withhold federal payments could not be applied to the Title X amendments for those states refusing to participate in the Medicaid expansion. Since this latter opinion concurred in the judgment on the narrowest ground ( i.e. , severing only part of the application of the law instead of striking all of
4554-591: The Supreme Court granted certiorari to portions of three cross-appeals of the Eleventh Circuit's opinion: one by the states ( Florida v. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Svcs. ), one by the federal government ( U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Svcs. v. Florida ), and one by the National Federation of Independent Business ( Nat'l Fed. of Independent Bus. v. Sebelius ). The Court announced in December 2011 that it would hear approximately six hours of oral argumentation over
4653-454: The Supreme Court's precedents have broadened Congress's powers under the Commerce Clause in a manner "inconsistent with the original understanding of Congress's powers and with this Court's early Commerce Clause cases". Thomas wrote that he agreed with Roberts's interpretation of precedents allowing Congress to use the Commerce Clause to regulate "the channels of interstate commerce" and the "persons or things in interstate commerce" and disallowing
4752-412: The United States. At the time, many universities were considering online-only models or hybrid in-person/online classes in order to safeguard the health of students and staff, as well as to halt the spread of the coronavirus. Cuccinelli defended the policy, saying "there isn't a reason" for international students to remain in the United States unless classes are in-person. He also said that the intent behind
4851-487: The acting USCIS director role. The legality of this appointment was unclear; House Committee on Homeland Security Chair Bennie Thompson called the appointment "legally questionable", while University of Texas School of Law Professor Stephen Vladeck said that "because Congress has not, by law, specified which position is 'first assistant' to the Deputy Secretary, this move is technically legal," despite "messing up
4950-425: The afternoon of the third day, the Court considered whether the Medicaid expansion the ACA instituted was coercive. Both Clement and Verrilli again argued before the Court. Chief Justice Roberts extended the time limit for both parties by 15 minutes during the arguments. Verrilli's performance during the hearings was widely criticized by analysts. The case generated a complex division on the bench. With respect to
5049-474: The amendments), the three-justice plurality became the controlling opinion under the rule set out by Marks v. United States (1977). Writing only for himself, Roberts would hold that the individual mandate penalty exceeded both Congress's commerce power and its Necessary and Proper Clause power. In part III-A of his opinion, he argued that Congress's authority under the Commerce Clause necessarily presupposes activity already exists for Congress to regulate, but
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#17328700053315148-710: The announcement was to encourage universities to have in-person classes during the pandemic. The United States issued nearly 400,000 F1- and M-visas (student visas) in 2019. On July 8, 2020, Harvard filed pleadings together with MIT in the US District Court in Boston seeking a temporary restraining order prohibiting enforcement of the order. That same month, Cuccinelli defended the deployment of federal agents dressed in camouflage and tactical gear to Portland, Oregon , where they picked up protestors and took them into unmarked vehicles. Under his tenure, Cuccinelli reduced oversight of
5247-429: The appropriate legal remedy. Roberts authored an opinion, of which three parts gained the assent of five justices (Roberts, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan) and became the opinion of the Court, and one part gained the assent of a plurality (Roberts, Breyer, and Kagan) and became part of the holding. Those parts of Roberts's opinion that gained the assent of five justices were Parts I, II, and III-C. Part I recounted
5346-642: The basis of reasonable suspicions in order to deter cyberbullying and " sexting ". The ACLU and the Rutherford Institute said that Cuccinelli's opinion was in error, lacking a legal foundation. Since 2007, his office negotiated settlements of almost $ 8 million representing refunds from eight auto-title lenders, filed a lawsuit against CNC Financial Services, Inc. for charging interest rates of 300 percent or more, and filed two separate against two Virginia Beach-based mortgage modification companies for charging customers up to $ 1,200 in illegal advance fees. He
5445-412: The basis that his appointment was invalid. On March 1, 2020, US District Court Judge Randolph D. Moss ruled that Cuccinelli was not lawfully appointed to serve as acting director and therefore lacked authority to issue two of the directives challenged in the lawsuit. Because the case was not filed as a class action, Moss was "unconvinced" that his relief should be extended to other asylum seekers not part of
5544-542: The conduct is not stated so that any reasonable person could glean what Dr. Mann did to violate the statute." Cuccinelli appealed the case to the Virginia Supreme Court, which ruled that Cuccinelli did not have the authority to make these demands. The outcome was hailed as a victory for academic freedom. Cuccinelli opposes homosexuality , describing homosexual acts as "against nature" and "harmful to society". Cuccinelli opposes same-sex marriage. He has argued against
5643-467: The constitutionality of same-sex marriages. In 2010, Cuccinelli called on Virginia universities to remove "'sexual orientation,' 'gender identity,' 'gender expression,' or like classification, as a protected class within its nondiscrimination policy, absent specific authorization from the General Assembly". He defended the constitutionality of Virginia laws prohibiting sodomy. In March 2013, a panel of
5742-618: The entire DHS line of succession in order to pull this off." On November 15, House Democrats requested that the Comptroller General of the United States review the legality of this appointment and Chad Wolf 's as Acting Secretary on the basis that former Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan did not have authority to change the department's line of succession. On August 14, 2020, the Government Accountability Office issued
5841-406: The facts and procedural history of the cases. Part II concerned the applicability of the Anti-Injunction Act to the individual mandate penalty. Part III-C held that, for constitutional purposes, the individual mandate penalty was a valid exercise of Congress's taxing power. The Anti-Injunction Act prohibits federal courts from enjoining agencies of the federal government from collecting a tax while
5940-403: The failure to uphold the individual mandate penalty under those two clauses did not end the inquiry. He referred to canons of judicial interpretation, particularly the canon of beneficial interpretation: where a law "has two possible meanings, one of which violates the Constitution, courts should adopt the meaning that does not do so." Thus, if the individual mandate penalty payment can be read as
6039-581: The following features of a tax: Neither did the penalty's operation as a tax run afoul of even "our narrowest interpretations of the taxing power", which disallows punitive taxation: Moreover, adhering to prior precedent, the Court reasoned the tax imposed by the individual mandate penalty is not a direct tax ( i.e. , it is not a capitation or poll tax, nor a tax on real estate) and consequently does not require apportionment: "[a] tax on going without health insurance does not fall within any recognized category of direct tax. ... The shared responsibility payment
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#17328700053316138-410: The government, represented by Solicitor General Donald Verrilli , nor the states, represented that day by Gregory G. Katsas of the law firm Jones Day , were willing to defend that position (which had been accepted by three of the 12 appellate court judges who heard the cases), the Court appointed Robert Long of the law firm Covington & Burling as amicus curiae to defend that position. On
6237-584: The immigration status of anyone that they have stopped. Cuccinelli rejects the scientific consensus on climate change. In 2010, Cuccinelli sought judicial review of the Environmental Protection Agency 's finding that greenhouse gasses endanger public health. In 2012, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected Cuccinelli's arguments. In 2010, Cuccinelli announced he would challenge
6336-475: The individual mandate could be severed, leaving the rest of the law intact. The government decided to not seek en banc review from the full Circuit and instead petitioned the United States Supreme Court to review the Eleventh Circuit's rulings. Other federal courts heard cases related to the Affordable Care Act that were not directly reviewed by the Supreme Court, but caused a divide regarding
6435-547: The individual mandate is independently authorized by Congress's taxing power] we must, if "fairly possible", Crowell v. Benson , 285 U. S. 22, 62 (1932), construe the provision to be a tax rather than a mandate-with-penalty, since that would render it constitutional rather than unconstitutional ( ut res magis valeat quam pereat ). But we cannot rewrite the statute to be what it is not. " '[A]lthough this Court will often strain to construe legislation so as to save it against constitutional attack, it must not and will not carry this to
6534-480: The individual mandate penalty. While authorizing Congress to enact laws incidental to powers enumerated in the Constitution, its authority is not a grant of any substantive and independent power. The individual mandate penalty represented an attempt by Congress to reach and draw in individuals beyond the scope of its authority; while the penalty may be necessary to Congress's ends, it is not a proper means of reaching it. In part III-B of his opinion, Roberts argued that
6633-418: The individual mandate seeks to compel activity in order to then regulate it. Such compulsion represents a "new and potentially vast domain to congressional authority" well beyond even the "most far reaching" extent of authority allowed under the precedent of Wickard v. Filburn . In Roberts's view, such a view of the commerce power would fundamentally change the relationship between the federal government and
6732-420: The individual mandate's enforcement mechanism was not a tax. The Court agreed. Because the ACA calls the individual mandate's shared responsibility payment a "penalty" instead of a "tax", it prevents the penalty from being treated as a tax under the Anti-Injunction Act. Taking a functional view to the individual mandate penalty, the Court held that it was a tax for constitutional purposes. The Court noted that
6831-471: The individual; while Congress may anticipate the effects of activity on commerce, it has never been allowed to anticipate economic activity by those not engaging in commercial acts. "The Commerce Clause is not a general license to regulate an individual from cradle to grave, simply because he will predictably engage in particular transactions." Nor could the Necessary and Proper Clause, in Roberts's view, support
6930-474: The issue of the Medicaid expansion, but no opinion among them obtained the assent of five justices. At issue were amendments to the Social Security Act contained in Title X of the Affordable Care Act. These amendments, in expanding Medicaid coverage, made changes to the plan requirements states must meet in their Medicaid plans. The 1965 amendments to the Social Security Act that created Medicaid authorized
7029-514: The justices also agreed that another challenged provision of the Act, a significant expansion of Medicaid , was not a valid exercise of Congress's spending power, as it would coerce states to either accept the expansion or risk losing existing Medicaid funding. In March 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law. A number of parties sued, including
7128-427: The label of the individual mandate shared responsibility payment as a penalty for the purposes of the Anti-Injunction Act did not control whether it was a tax for purposes of constitutional analysis. The Court asserted that the individual mandate penalty, in practical operation, exhibited all the characteristics of a tax—the penalty "looks like a tax in many respects." That is, the individual mandate penalty had all of
7227-469: The law's constitutionality. Two federal judges appointed by President Bill Clinton upheld the individual mandate in 2010. Judge Jeffrey Sutton , a member of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals appointed by George W. Bush , was the first Republican-appointed judge to rule that the law is constitutional in June 2011, as part of a divided three-judge panel that upheld the law. On November 14, 2011,
7326-593: The legal fashion, so decided to cross the river". He said in an interview that the administration is prepared to deport approximately 1 million undocumented immigrants who have final removal orders already in place. On August 12, 2019, Cuccinelli announced a revised regulation, to go into effect October 15, 2019, expanding the public charge requirements for legal immigration. Green cards and visas can be denied if people are likely to need federal, state and local government benefits including food stamps , housing vouchers and Medicaid. When asked whether this change contradicted
7425-461: The majority's finding that the federal government's threat of taking away existing funding from states unwilling to implement Medicaid expansion left states with no "legitimate choice". When future Spending Clause challenges arrive, as they likely will in the wake of today's decision, how will litigants and judges assess whether "a State has a legitimate choice whether to accept the federal conditions in exchange for federal funds"? Are courts to measure
7524-406: The new requirements were consistent with the public charge laws, which first passed in 1882: the same era as the poem. He further asserted that the poem referred to European immigrants, though these assertions were disputed by Lazarus's biographer. In October 2019, Ken Cuccinelli testified to a Congressional investigation that he alone had made the decision to end the medical deferred action program,
7623-525: The number of dollars the Federal Government might withhold for noncompliance? The portion of the State's budget at stake? And which State's—or States'—budget is determinative: the lead plaintiff, all challenging States (26 in this case, many with quite different fiscal situations), or some national median? Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito joined an unsigned dissent that argued the individual mandate
7722-478: The opinion that the individual mandate was not within the scope of Congress's Commerce Clause or its Necessary and Proper Clause powers. As four of them did not concur in the judgment, their votes could not count toward a controlling opinion. A separate combination of five justices (Roberts, Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan) held the individual mandate was a valid exercise of Congress's taxing power . As these five justices concurred in judgment and agreed to
7821-467: The original suit. On August 12, 2020, the government dropped its appeal in the case. In July 2019, Cuccinelli blamed an asylum seeker for the asylum seeker's own death and that of his daughter who were found dead on the banks of the Rio Grande River. He said, "The reason we have tragedies like that on the border is because those folks, that father didn't want to wait to go through the asylum process in
7920-497: The poem welcoming the impoverished and persecuted engraved at the base of the Statue of Liberty , Cuccinelli offered a revision, "Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge." The original poem, Emma Lazarus 's " The New Colossus ", states "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore." Cuccinelli asserted
8019-498: The point of perverting the purpose of a statute ... ' or judicially rewriting it." Commodity Futures Trading Comm'n v. Schor , 478 U. S. 833, 841 (1986) (quoting Aptheker v. Secretary of State , 378 U. S. 500, 515 (1964), in turn quoting Scales v. United States , 367 U. S. 203, 211 (1961)). In this case, there is simply no way, "without doing violence to the fair meaning of the words used", Grenada County Supervisors v. Brogden , 112 U. S. 261, 269 (1884), to escape what Congress enacted:
8118-503: The position, Cuccinelli had met none of the eligibility criteria. In a letter to the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, the House committee chairs allege that the brief appointment to "Principal Deputy Director" had been retroactively applied, possibly in violation of the law. The USCIS employees union also challenged the legality of Cuccinelli's appointment. In September 2019, a lawsuit was filed challenging his asylum directives, partially on
8217-519: The regulation of commercial inactivity. But he disagreed with the court's third, "substantial effects" test as established by Wickard v. Filburn , articulated within United States v. Morrison , and strengthened by Gonzales v. Raich . The Court convened on the morning of June 28, 2012, to announce its decisions on the ACA and two other cases; it announced its ruling on the ACA shortly after 10:00 am EDT . CNN and Fox News initially reported that
8316-475: The rest of the Affordable Care Act and struck down the entire act. The Department of Health and Human Services appealed to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals . A three-judge panel issued a 2–1 ruling affirming Vinson's findings in part and reversing in part. The court affirmed the District Court's holding that the individual mandate was unconstitutional, but, contrary to the District Court's view, it held that
8415-585: The same parts of Roberts's opinion, this was the binding and controlling majority as to this aspect of the case. As the individual mandate was upheld, the issue of its severability from the rest of the Affordable Care Act was not reached. A final combination of seven justices (Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, Breyer, Alito, and Kagan) concurred in judgment that the Medicaid expansion of the Affordable Care Act, in combination with existing statutes, amounted to an unconstitutionally coercive use of Congress's spending power; however, those seven justices were divided as to
8514-527: The second day, the court heard arguments over whether the ACA's "individual mandate" fell under the constitutional powers of Congress. The states (Florida et al.) were represented during the hearings by former Bush administration Solicitor General Paul Clement while the government was represented by current Solicitor General Donald Verrilli . Tom Goldstein of SCOTUSblog , while acknowledging that Verrilli had an initial stumble, called Verrilli's performance "tremendous", but also said that Clement's performance
8613-544: The son of Maribeth (née Reilly) and Kenneth Thomas Cuccinelli. His father is of Italian descent and his mother is of Irish ancestry. He attended Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. , where he graduated in 1986, and received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia , a J.D. from George Mason University School of Law , and an M.A. in international commerce and policy from George Mason University . Cuccinelli co-founded
8712-499: The state's most powerful corporations, and Appalachian Power Company. The basis of the brief is that the law allows these semi-public electric utility companies to charge excess rates. Cuccinelli said "This is a legalized transfer [of money] from poorer Virginians to two utility companies. It is unfair and unjust and unconstitutional, and it's bad policy." Cuccinelli was appointed to serve as the Principal Deputy Director of
8811-401: The union representing ICE agents which essentially gives the agents the power to determine policy, by requiring prior written consent from the union before any change to policies and functions that affect them can take effect. The complaint said that Cuccinelli's action was an abuse of power intended to "tie Biden's hands" with regard to immigration policy. In February 2021, Cuccinelli was named
8910-460: The vote total. In 2014, Cuccinelli was involved with the co-founding of an oyster farming company in Tangier, Virginia . In the 2016 presidential election , Cuccinelli served as an advisor to Ted Cruz 's campaign , leading the campaign's effort to win delegates for Cruz at the 2016 Republican National Convention . In early polls on the 2017 gubernatorial race , Cuccinelli was a frontrunner for
9009-483: The whole statute should have been deemed inoperative because the two parts were central to the statute's design and operation. The joint dissent mentioned that "the Constitution requires tax increases to originate in the House of Representatives" per the Origination Clause , though that issue was not addressed by the majority opinion. In a one-paragraph dissent, Justice Thomas emphasized his long-held belief that
9108-521: The workplace. His appointment as Acting USCIS Director by the Donald Trump administration was ruled unlawful by U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in March 2020, who found it to be in violation of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 . Later that year, the Government Accountability Office ruled his appointment as the acting Deputy Secretary illegal, as well. Cuccinelli was born in Edison, New Jersey ,
9207-401: The workplace. He has sought to repeal birthright citizenship. He sought to ban undocumented immigrants from attending Virginia colleges. During the 2016 Republican National Convention , Cuccinelli led an effort to prevent Donald Trump from receiving the Republican presidential nomination. He was a staunch Ted Cruz supporter during the 2016 Republican Party presidential primaries . After
9306-459: Was "the best argument I've ever heard". On the morning of the third day, the Court considered the issue of severability —whether the ACA could survive if the Court struck down the individual mandate. Paul Clement, Deputy Solicitor General Edwin Kneedler , and Court-appointed amicus curiae H. Bartow Farr, III of the law firm Farr & Taranto argued their various positions before the Court. On
9405-703: Was first appointed to a newly created position of "Principal Deputy Director", which according to Department of Homeland Security officials allowed him to then be appointed as Acting Director under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (FVRA). The appointment as Acting Director of USCIS may have circumvented the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, according to the Chairs of the House committees on Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Government Oversight. FVRA stipulates eligibility criteria for temporarily filling positions that require Senate confirmation. Before being considered for
9504-533: Was involved in passing legislation targeting human trafficking. After his election as attorney general, it was speculated that Cuccinelli was a potential candidate for governor in the 2013 election or for the United States Senate in 2014 . Cuccinelli himself stated that he was considering running for the Senate. Two days later, one of his aides said, "We haven't ruled out anything. He's not actively considering
9603-507: Was named the Family Foundation of Virginia "Legislator of the Year". Cuccinelli sponsored a number of bills to discourage abortions, including requiring doctors to anesthetize fetuses undergoing late term abortions, altering the licensing and regulation of abortion clinics, and requiring that a doctor save the fetal tissue when performing an abortion on a woman under age 15, for forensic use. As
9702-444: Was not going to cover the full cost of the Medicaid expansion after 2016. Where the justices differed was in what they thought constituted the appropriate remedy. Four (Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito) believed the Title X amendments should be struck down due to their impermissibly coercive nature. The remaining three (Roberts, Breyer, and Kagan) instead opted to exercise the existing severability clause (codified at 42 USC §1303) in
9801-408: Was unconstitutional because it represented an attempt by Congress to regulate beyond its power under the Commerce Clause. Further, they argued that reclassifying the individual mandate as a tax rather than a penalty in order to sustain its constitutionality was not to interpret the statute but to rewrite it, which they deemed a troubling exercise of judicial power: In answering that question [whether
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