President Donald Trump’s harsh criticisms may still be ringing in the ears of Supreme Court justices when they return to the bench for a new nine-month term next week.
uncertain
they → ring → term
In the final months of its previous term and over its summer break, the conservative-majority court, which includes three Trump appointees, ruled against Trump on some of the issues he holds most dear.
asserted
he → include → issues
The justices blocked his sweeping tariffs, ended his plan to curb birthright citizenship, prevented him from firing a member of the Federal Reserve and blocked his plan to exert control over mail-in ballots ahead of this fall’s election.
asserted
justices → block → election
The Supreme Court has “let our country down,” Trump said in a Truth Social post after the mail-in ballots ruling.
asserted
Trump → let → ruling
The very justices he appointed — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — are “a shell of their previous selves,” he added.
asserted
he → appoint → selves
The president made similar claims in a Time magazine interview published Thursday, saying: “I gave them the position of a lifetime, and they vote against me often.”
uncertain
they → make → me
The president still desperately needs justices’ votes when key parts of his agenda come before the court in the coming months, in particular multiple cases arising from his hard-line immigration crackdown.
asserted
parts → need → crackdown
The court could also weigh in on his administration’s ban on transgender people in the military, which the justices in a previous decision allowed to go into effect.
uncertain
justices → weigh → effect
Another appeal is pending in Trump’s effort to overturn a defamation verdict against him in a case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of sexual abuse.
asserted
who → pende → abuse
The court in June rejected an earlier Trump appeal concerning a separate case that Carroll won.
asserted
Carroll → reject → that
Trump’s complaints about the court mask the fact that the administration has had plenty of wins, in particular in emergency cases that reach the court via what is known colloquially as the “shadow docket.”
asserted
what → mask → docket
The court’s interim rulings have allowed the administration to move forward with immigration enforcement, restructuring of the federal government and even construction of a ballroom at the White House in emergency rulings while litigation continues.
asserted
litigation → allow → rulings
Lauren Bis, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement that overall “the administration’s policies have been consistently upheld as lawful.”
asserted
policies → say → statement
“President Trump will not stop implementing the America First agenda that he was elected on,” she added.
asserted
she → stop → that
The court resumes oral arguments Monday as it formally opens the new session, which runs until June, by hearing a major case about whether cities and counties can sue oil companies for the impacts of climate change.
asserted
cities → resume → change
Those who regularly challenge Trump policies in court say their recent wins have them hopeful about this term, showing that even though the court has a 6-3 conservative majority, it is not a rubber stamp for the president.
asserted
it → challenge → president
“Even with this court, you can go too far beyond the bounds,” said Norm Eisen, co-founder of Democracy Defenders Fund, which has challenged Trump on multiple fronts.
asserted
which → go → fronts
The justices would not, for example, “allow Trump to hijack mail-in voting,” he added.
asserted
he → allow → voting
Cecillia Wang, national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, was similarly relieved by some of the court’s recent decisions.
asserted
Wang → relieve → decisions
“I think the court has proved it is willing to stand up to the Trump administration’s excesses.
asserted
it → think → excesses
And that gives us confidence going into this term,” she said.
asserted
she → give → term
Two key parts of Trump’s immigration policy are already lined up for Supreme Court review.
asserted
parts → line → review
In one, the justices will consider the administration’s ongoing efforts to deport immigrants to “third countries” they have no previous connection to if they cannot be returned to their home nations.
asserted
they → consider → nations
The Supreme Court already allowed the policy to go ahead twice, suggesting the administration has a good chance of prevailing.
asserted
administration → allow → chance
The other case concerns the administration’s attempt to detain indefinitely thousands of people in deportation proceedings, a break from previous administrations, which would release those immigrants while their cases were adjudicated.
asserted
cases → concern → immigrants
Other Trump-related cases are likely to be added to the docket in time to be ruled on by next summer, with several appeals already pending.
asserted
appeals → relate → summer
Among them is another potentially significant immigration case arising from the Trump administration’s shutdown of asylum claims at the U.S.-Mexico border.
uncertain
case → arise → border
Lower courts ruled against the administration, although the policy currently remains in effect.
asserted
policy → rule → effect
Robert Luther III, who served in the White House during the first Trump term and is now a professor at Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, said that, as with the previous term, much of the focus will be on Trump’s broad interpretation of executive power.
“He’s always staked out an aggressive view of executive power.
asserted
He → serve → power
The court’s relationship with that view continues to unfold.
asserted
relationship → continue → view
Some of those cases he is winning and some he is losing
asserted
he → win → cases
,” he added.
asserted
he → add → ?
Although the court has been on its customary summer recess since the end of June, the justices have remained busy dealing with cases brought on the shadow docket.
asserted
justices → remain → docket
Such cases are typically dealt with swiftly, with no oral arguments or detailed written opinions.
asserted
cases → deal → arguments
The shadow docket has increasingly become a key part of the court’s operations in recent years, with some of the rulings proving more consequential than those on the court’s traditional docket, in which the justices hear arguments and spend months deliberating before issuing long rulings.
asserted
justices → become → rulings
During the summer, the Trump administration filed seven shadow docket requests on a variety of issues.
asserted
administration → file → issues
The court ruled for Trump on four of them and against him once, while one was withdrawn and one is pending.
asserted
one → rule → him
The administration’s most high-profile win of the summer recess allowed Trump to continue with his construction of a ballroom at the White House.
asserted
Trump → allow → House
But his single loss on his mail-in ballots executive order was a significant one, prompting some of his strongest criticism of the justices to date.
asserted
loss → mail → date
Luther said the justices are likely able to put the president’s colorful rhetoric to one side.
asserted
justices → say → side
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
