The Supreme Court began its new term this week, and it’s going to be an eventful one. Buckle up.
The Trump administration is facing more than 400 lawsuits from states, cities, individuals and businesses — mostly regarding charges that the administration has exceeded its constitutional and statutory authority in areas such as tariffs, immigration, hiring and firing of federal agency personnel, the independence of the Federal Reserve Bank, spending rescissions and impoundments, and birthright citizenship.
Whew.
For those who are not close watchers of the court — and that’s most of us — it’s important to remember that most of the court’s actions related to the Trump administration so far have come from the “emergency docket,” and such actions are temporary. They don’t deal with the substantive questions — they simply allow the administration to continue a policy or force it to suspend a policy until the court has a chance to rule on the substantive and constitutional issues. None of the Supreme Court’s actions for or against the Trump administration so far have been permanent.
That all happens now.
You would be forgiven for thinking some of these cases had already been decided, because partisans on these issues often seize on one of these temporary rulings and declare on social media “HUGE VICTORY FOR TRUMP!” or “SCOTUS SLAPS DOWN TRUMP!” when, in fact, all that has happened is a temporary, procedural ruling. Social media is not exactly the place to find reasoned and accurate analysis, if you haven’t already noticed.
You should not expect that just because a judge has been appointed by Trump, that judge is going to rule in his favor. That’s not how it works. In fact, the majority of court rulings against the Trump administration have come from judges appointed by Trump and other Republicans. Being elected president doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want to do. The power of the president is limited by the Constitution, as it does for all of the federal government.
This past weekend, White House adviser Stephen Miller took to social media to decry a supposed “left-wing legal insurrection led by Democrat judges” because a federal judge ruled against the Trump administration. But the judge in question, Karen Immergut, was appointed by Trump in 2018.
To his great credit, Donald Trump has appointed many highly qualified judges — and very good judges follow the law, the Constitution and the limits of legislation.
How will Stephen Miller react if the Supreme Court throws out the bulk of Trump’s tariffs? If the court rejects the challenge to birthright citizenship?
The Trump administration will win some and lose some. When they lose, it won’t be a “judicial insurrection.” Republicans should be very careful about joining Democrats in undermining faith in the judicial system. And Stephen Miller probably needs to start taking blood pressure medication.