The US Supreme Court has demonstrated an unflinching regard for former President Donald Trump, consistently ruling in his favor in significant cases. Since Trump’s inauguration, the court has issued several decisions that have reshaped the landscape of American jurisprudence, often with the conservative majority overriding lower court decisions that had checked Trump’s actions.
The court’s conservative majority, composed of six Republican-appointed justices, has repeatedly undercut US district court judges who have held hearings, discerned facts, and issued orders to check Trump’s actions. In a notable case related to Trump’s second term, touching on birthright citizenship, Justice Amy Coney Barrett emphasized the limited ability of lower court judges to block arguably unconstitutional moves.
Barrett wrote, “(F)ederal courts do not exercise general oversight of the Executive Branch; they resolve cases and controversies consistent with the authority Congress has given them.” She further added, “When a court concludes that the Executive Branch has acted unlawfully, the answer is not for the court to exceed its power, too.”
In contrast, the court’s liberal justices have expressed strong dissenting opinions, warning that the majority’s decisions could have far-reaching consequences for the country. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the majority had essentially “shoved lower court judges out of the way.” Justice Elena Kagan noted that the court’s actions “may facilitate the permanent transfer of authority, piece by piece by piece, from one branch of Government to another.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, emphasized the importance of the judiciary’s role in checking the executive branch, stating, “When the Executive publicly announces its intent to break the law, and then executes on that promise, it is the Judiciary’s duty to check that lawlessness, not expedite it.”
The Supreme Court has recently issued several notable decisions in Trump’s favor. In one case, the court allowed Trump to fire Biden-appointed members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission who had been confirmed by the Senate and were still serving their terms. The conservative majority justified this action by referring to an earlier decision in May that let Trump remove members of two independent entities that protect private employees and federal workers. The court also brushed aside lower court determinations when it ruled against states and labor unions that had sued the Department of Education for its actions to dissolve the agency.
The Supreme Court’s decisions have significant implications for the country’s system of checks and balances. The court’s unflinching regard for Trump raises questions about the potential for abuse of power and the erosion of the judiciary’s role in ensuring that the executive branch acts within the law.
As Jackson noted, “the majority sees a power grab—but not by a presumably lawless Executive choosing to act in a manner that flouts the plain text of the Constitution. Instead, to the majority, the power-hungry actors are…the district courts.” The court’s decisions have sparked intense debate and raised concerns about the long-term consequences for American democracy.