The Supreme Court is back in session
Image: Jack Gruber
The 2025-2026 term of the Supreme Court officially begins today. And, much like last term, it won’t be a boring one.
A (non-exhaustive) list of hot-button issues SCOTUS will likely be tackling:
- Tariff legality: The Justices are hearing a case in early November that will decide whether the majority of President Trump’s sweeping tariffs are legal. Two lower courts have found that Trump doesn’t have the power to unilaterally impose wide-ranging tariffs under an emergency powers law.
- Trump firing independent agency members: SCOTUS will hear two similar cases that seek to clarify whether Trump can fire members of independent agencies—specifically Fed Gov. Lisa Cook and FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter.
- Birthright citizenship ban: The Trump admin has challenged lower-court rulings that block the President’s executive order denying birthright citizenship to children born in the US to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily.
- LGBTQ+ issues: A Colorado case going before SCOTUS this week could set a nationwide precedent for whether states can ban “conversion therapy,” or treatment that aims to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity. Justices are also hearing appeals to two lower-court rulings in favor of transgender athletes who challenged state laws barring them from women’s sports.
- Election law: The Supreme Court has taken on three major cases covering: 1) the future of the Voting Rights Act’s requirement for majority Black House districts; 2) the legality of limiting political parties from coordinating their spending on behalf of candidates; and 3) how to handle mail-in ballots that are posted by Election Day but arrive afterwards.
It’s the first major Trump test for SCOTUS
The Court has decided nearly two dozen cases so far this year that deal with Trump admin policies, all of which have come via its emergency docket (or “shadow docket”). Decisions in these cases—overwhelmingly in favor of Trump—are temporary, with Justices not ruling on the underlying legality of the issue.
This means that the coming SCOTUS term will be the first to permanently address some of the lawsuits filed in response to Trump’s policies enacted during his second term.
📸 Big picture: ~42% of Americans currently approve of the way SCOTUS is doing its job, a near-record low driven mainly by disapproval from Democrats and Independents. In 2020, ~50% of both Republicans and Democrats approved of the court’s performance. But Gallup polling last week found 71% of Republicans now approve of the court, compared with 38% of Independents and 14% of Democrats.
đź“Š Flash poll: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Supreme Court is handling its job?
See a 360° view of what pundits are saying →
Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue that this upcoming term will be SCOTUS’ most consequential in history, since in a world where Congress often seems irrelevant, it will decide whether the Court accepts its proper role of serving as a check to the President.
- Others contend that Congress is the only true check on limitless executive power that provoked the American Revolution—but since Congress is AWOL, it’s up to the Supreme Court to invalidate unconstitutional acts by the White House, even though its power is limited without the support of the American people, Congress and the President.
- “This Will Be the Supreme Court’s Most Consequential Term Yet” –Noah Feldman, Bloomberg
- “Congress or the Supreme Court: Where lies the power?” –Baltimore Sun Editorial Board
- “The Supreme Court is signaling it will protect the Fed — and the economy” –WaPo Editorial Board
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that Trump’s recent norm-shattering power grabs should not be met with Supreme Court decisions that vest similar excess power in future presidents, as it could alter the delicate system of checks and balances that has allowed America to prosper for 250 years.
- Others contend that the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts’ leadership has made much-needed progress toward restoring the founding vision of the Constitution, after conservatives were stymied in this quest for decades.
- “Maintain U.S. system” –Toledo Blade Editorial Board
- “The Triumph of the Roberts Court” –WSJ Editorial Board
- “If everything is a national security threat, nothing is” –Washington Examiner Editorial Board
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