The day after a cert petition was filed in King v. Burwell, the United States has filed a petition for rehearing en banc in Halbig v. Sebelius. I’ll have more to say about each petition later. For now, the government asserts that rehearing is necessary to avert “disastrous consequences.”

The majority ignored those teachings, risking “disastrous consequences.” Dissent 3. The disruption threatened by the panel majority’s erroneous interpretation and the direct conflict with King present a question of “exceptional importance” warranting en banc consideration.

Responses should be filed around the same time in each.