Senators Demand Kagan Recuse Herself from Obamacare Suit

Senate Republicans on Tuesday said they wanted to know whether Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan would recuse herself from a possible Supreme Court challenge to this year's health care law.

The issue is not likely to derail her expected Senate confirmation, but it could give Republicans who are opposed or on the fence an additional reason to vote no.

Ms. Kagan, the solicitor general, represents the Obama administration before the Supreme Court. She has said she would decline to participate in deciding cases that she worked on but hasn't said whether that includes a challenge to the health-care law.

Constitutional questions about the health-care law, including its requirement that most Americans obtain insurance or face a fine, were raised in the months before President Barack Obama nominated Ms. Kagan to the court. Several states have filed suit to try and stop it.

"It is all but inconceivable that, when the states challenged the new health care law in March 2010, Ms. Kagan did not participate as counsel or adviser to the administration on the matter, or express her opinion on the case's merits at that time," Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.), the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday. Read more ...