How many times did Lower court Judges block Obama?
Once*, the Obama administration did face significant legal setbacks and judicial blocks in other areas:
*Immigration: A 4-4 tie by the Supreme Court effectively blocked Obama’s executive action on immigration, upholding lower court injunctions against the policy.
Executive Authority: The Supreme Court ruled against the Obama administration in NLRB v. Noel Canning, unanimously rejecting his use of recess appointments.
Healthcare: The administration’s interpretation of the Affordable Care Act was challenged in King v. Burwell, which reached the Supreme Court, though the final outcome of that specific case is not detailed in the provided context as a block.
Judicial Obstruction: Republicans in the Senate blocked numerous judicial nominees, leaving over 100 vacancies for the subsequent administration, a move described by scholars as an unprecedented blockade of judicial appointments.
Experts noted that while the government loses cases unanimously every term, characterizing these losses as 13 specific instances of "exceeding constitutional authority" was a concocted statistic that misrepresented the nature of the court's decisions.