Trump’s agenda is on a collision course with the Supreme Court
Image: Thomson Reuters
The Justice Department is currently fast-tracking many of its ongoing legal fights over the White House’s efforts to push the bounds of executive power, setting up Supreme Court showdowns over a wide range of Trump’s policies in the near future.
Major cases on the docket
- Firing gov’t workers: The DOJ filed an emergency application this week asking SCOTUS to allow federal agencies to resume mass firings of probationary employees, after a federal judge ordered ~16,000 such workers reinstated.
- Eliminating birthright citizenship: The Trump admin has asked the Supreme Court to narrow rulings by three lower court judges that block the President’s executive order voiding birthright citizenship, so the administration can begin putting into effect its new policy.
- Wartime deportation powers: An appeals court heard arguments this week in a case over Trump’s use of wartime powers to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members, which White House officials have vowed to take to the Supreme Court.
- Refusing refugees: An appeals court yesterday overturned a federal judge’s ruling that had prevented the White House from suspending entry of new refugees as a lawsuit plays out over Trump’s executive order halting US refugee admissions.
- Firing agency heads: The DOJ has signaled plans to ask SCOTUS to reverse a decades-old precedent limiting the President’s power to remove independent agency heads.
One thing to note: The cases fast-tracked to the Supreme Court only involve requests for temporary halts—or stays—of lower court orders, not rulings on the underlying arguments. But these “stay fights” often signal how courts will rule on the merits in the future.
Looking ahead…The Trump admin’s legal battles that have already made it to SCOTUS on an emergency basis will receive rulings in the coming days or weeks. The other cases are expected to reach the Court over the next few weeks or months.
đź“Š Flash poll: In general, do you want to see Trump administration policies that have reached the Supreme Court be upheld or overturned?
See a 360° view of what pundits are saying →
Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue that Trump’s admin has already performed a number of illegal and unconstitutional acts – but its defining attribute is its anti-constitutional assertions of executive authority.
- Others contend that liberals who now assume that courts are their last hope against the Trump administration should refrain from idealizing them, since giving courts the last word is part of what got America into its current mess.
- “Trump Has Gone From Unconstitutional to Anti-Constitutional” –Jamelle Bouie, NY Times
- “Don’t count on the courts to save democracy” –Ryan D. Doerfler and Samuel Moyn, Washington Post
- “Under Trump, the Supreme Court's protection of free speech is at risk” –Rachel Maddow, MSNBC
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that the Supreme Court should use its rulings in Trump cases to send a message to Congress to do its job, and not cede its power to the President or private actors.
- Others contend that while some courts will rule against Trump as he tests the limits of his executive power, much of Trump’s agenda will likely survive court challenges as have similar Executive Branch policies in the past.
- “Will the Supreme Court Make Congress Do Its Job?” –WSJ Editorial Board
- “Trump’s executive orders are nothing new. Neither are the court challenges.” –Chicago Tribune Editorial Board
- “Trump battles judges and bureaucrats desperate to preserve Biden’s agenda” –Washington Times Editorial Board
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