Solicitor general steps down after arguing landmark SCOTUS cases

by Jordan Fabian - 06/02/16 10:38 AM ET

Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. is stepping down from his post, ending a five-year stretch of arguing landmark cases on behalf of the Obama administration before the Supreme Court.

President Obama announced Verrilli’s departure Thursday, calling him “a dedicated public servant who has helped our nation live up to its promise of liberty and justice for all.”

{mosads}Verrilli’s tenure was marked by a string of Supreme Court cases that could come to define Obama’s legacy, on issues ranging from his healthcare law to same-sex marriage and immigration.

Twice in three years, the Justice Department attorney argued successfully in cases that could have dismantled key parts of the Affordable Care Act.

The high court ruled in a 5-4 decision in 2012 that the law’s individual health insurance mandate is constitutional. Last June, the court upheld provisions that allow millions of people to receive subsidies that help them purchase health insurance.

That same week, a five-justice majority sided with the Obama administration in ruling that same-sex marriages must be recognized nationwide.

The administration’s legal record in immigration cases has been mixed. In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled in its favor, knocking down central pillars of Arizona’s controversial immigration enforcement law.

But the court has yet to render a final verdict on Obama’s executive actions on immigration, which could allow millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally to remain and apply for work permits.

The actions have been on hold since February 2015, when a Texas federal judge slapped a nationwide injunction on the programs.

The court also went against the wishes of the administration in 2013 and struck down core elements of the Voting Rights Act by a 5-4 vote.

Obama said that the New York native has earned a “well-deserved” vacation after serving the seventh-longest tenure of any solicitor general. The Justice Department announced that Deputy Solicitor General Ian Gershengorn will serve as acting solicitor general beginning in late June.

Tags Barack Obama Donald Verrilli Supreme Court