US supreme court upholds Obamacare, preserving healthcare for millions – live

House speaker Nancy Pelosi celebrated the supreme court’s ruling, describing the Affordable Care Act as “a pillar of American health and economic security”.

“Thanks to the tireless advocacy of Americans across the country and the work of Democrats in Congress, the Affordable Care Act endures as a pillar of American health and economic security alongside Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security,” the Democratic speaker said on Twitter.

Two of the three supreme court justices nominated by Donald Trump, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, sided with the majority to uphold the Affordable Care Act.

The third justice nominated by Trump, Neil Gorsuch, joined Samuel Alito in dissenting to the majority opinion.

When Barrett was nominated to fill the seat of Ruth Bader Ginsburg last year, there was widespread speculation among Democrats that she would support gutting the ACA because of her past criticism of the law. But that prediction has not come to pass.

One of Trump’s greatest ambitions during president was ending Obamacare, but he was unable to do it in Congress, and conservatives have now failed to do it in court for the third time.

Joe Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, reacted to the supreme court’s ruling on Twitter, saying, “It’s still a BFD.”

That is, of course, a reference to when Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law in 2010, and Biden was caught on a mic telling the then-president, “This is a big fucking deal.”

The court found that the Republican-led states who challenged the Affordable Care Act did not have standing to bring their case.

“Plaintiffs do not have standing to challenge §5000A(a)’s minimum essential coverage provision because they have not shown a past or future injury fairly traceable to defendants’ conduct enforcing the specific statutory provision they attack as unconstitutional,” the decision says.

The supreme court has dismissed a challenge to the Affordable Care Act, preserving healthcare coverage for millions of Americans.

The decision was 7-2, with Justice Stephen Breyer writing the majority opinion. Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented.

The blog will have more details on the decision coming up, so stay tuned.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Congressional Black Caucus celebrated the passage of the Juneteenth bill on Capitol Hill this afternoon.

Members of the CBC sang the African-American national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” after Pelosi formally signed the bill to send it to Joe Biden’s desk.

The president will sign the bill this afternoon.

Here are the 14 House Republicans who voted against the Juneteenth bill:

• Andy Biggs of Arizona.
• Mo Brooks of Alabama.
• Andrew Clyde of Georgia.
• Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee.
• Paul Gosar of Arizona.
• Ronny Jackson of Texas.
• Doug LaMalfa of California.
• Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
• Tom McClintock of California.
• Ralph Norman of South Carolina.
• Mike Rogers of Alabama.
• Matt Rosendale of Montana.
• Chip Roy of Texas.
• Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin.

In a statement explaining his vote, Rosendale claimed the bill was an attempt by Democrats to “celebrate identity politics”.

“Since I believe in treating everyone equally, regardless of race, and that we should be focused on what unites us rather than our differences, I will vote no,” Rosendale said.

Joe Biden will sign the Juneteenth bill into law at the White House this afternoon, and he and Kamala Harris will deliver remarks about the historic legislation.

Once Biden signs the bill, Juneteenth will officially become the 12th federal holiday in the US, marking the first time a new federal holiday has been created since Martin Luther King Jr Day was first recognized in 1983.

Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.

Congress voted yesterday to make Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in America, a federal holiday.

The Senate approved the Juneteenth bill by voice vote on Tuesday, and the House passed the legislation last night in a vote of 412 to 14. (All 14 “no” votes came from Republicans.)

Lawmakers who have been fighting for recognition of Juneteenth celebrated the bill’s passage, which came just three days before the US commemorates the holiday.

“Our federal holidays are purposely few in number and recognize the most important milestones,” said the Democratic congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. “I cannot think of a more important milestone to commemorate than the end of slavery in the United States.”

The bill’s passage also came as Joe Biden made his way back to Washington after a week in Europe for the G7 and Nato summits, as well as his first in-person meeting with Vladimir Putin since becoming president.

Despite the success of the Juneteenth bill, Biden’s other legislative priorities are piling up in the Senate, and it’s unclear whether they will be able to advance.

The blog will have more details on that coming up, so stay tuned.