How will Trump’s cases fare at the Supreme Court?
And more questions!
Happy Sunday, and welcome to another mailbag issue for paid subscribers! This week, I’ll be answering reader questions on:
Trump’s odds of wining different cases that are set to come before the Supreme Court
Whether or not Democrats should be “playing dead” against Trump
What options courts have to enforce their orders
Whether Democrats could win back the House by special elections
How Congress could reclaim its power
And a question about me!
Let’s dive in:
Q: Of all the lawsuits pending against the administration, which one(s) do you think will reach the Supreme Court first and which are you following most closely?
Q: All or most of the cases against Trump will end up on appeal before the US Supreme Court. What is your best guess about how the Supremes will rule?
Minor aspects of a few cases have already reached the Supreme Court, but it seems like the first that will ask the justices to resolve a major legal question will be the case challenging President Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship.
Even in this case, the court isn’t poised to initially take up the biggest constitutional question sparked by the order (Does the 14th Amendment guarantee citizenship to everyone born here?) And yet, the matter at hand could have even larger implications.
“At this stage, the government comes to this Court with a ‘modest’ request,” the Justice Department wrote in a recent filing. “While the parties litigate weighty merits questions, the Court should ‘restrict the scope’ of multiple preliminary injunctions that ‘purpor[t] to cover every person in the country,” limiting those injunctions to parties actually within the courts’ power.”
In plain English, the first issue before the Supreme Court in Trump’s second term seems poised to be one that could shape all of his other legal battles, too: can a single district judge (temporarily) block an administration policy for the whole country?
This practice is known as “nationwide” or “universal” injunctions, and — in case you haven’t noticed — the Trump administration hasn’t only been railing against it in court filings. “Unlawful Nationwide Injunctions by Radical Left Judges could very well lead to the destruction of our Country!” the president wrote on Truth Social just this week.
Now, to the second reader question: How likely is that the court will side with the administration on this and other issues?