The Supreme Court's Pathetic Weakness Under Trump

As the most authoritarian and lawless president in history sits in the White House, the US Supreme Court is caught in a delicate balancing act. Fearing that standing up to President Trump will make it look weak, the court has taken several decisions that uphold the president's actions while giving him ample wiggle room to defy its rulings. However, this approach has sparked criticism from many legal experts, who argue that the court's conservative majority has been too accommodating of Trump's brazen attacks on the judiciary and the rule of law.

Key Takeaways:

• The Supreme Court's conservative supermajority has issued several decisions that uphold President Trump's actions, including the stunning reversal of a lower court ruling that allowed Trump to fire 16,000 probationary federal employees.
• The court has given Trump's administration plenty of room to maneuver, including allowing it to suspend $65m in teacher-training grants and to provisionally remove the heads of two independent agencies.
• The court's decision to grant Trump broad immunity from criminal prosecution has been particularly egregious, allowing the president to act with impunity and without accountability.
• The court's reluctance to stand up to Trump's attacks on the judiciary and the rule of law has emboldened the president to take even more authoritarian actions, including his recent assault on Harvard University's free speech rights.
• The court's conservative supermajority has sympathized with many of Trump's moves, blessing them far more often than many legal scholars would like, and has emboldened Trump to take even more actions that push – and often overstep – the boundaries of what is legal.
• The court's inaction has also meant that Trump has been able to defy district court judges' orders and lash out against the judiciary with impunity, sparking a worrying trend that threatens the very fabric of our democracy.

Statistics:

• Trump has threatened or attacked over 30 government officials, judges, and law enforcement officers since he took office.
• The number of judges who have received threats has soared, with many citing Trump's tirades as a primary reason.
• Trump has used executive orders to bypass Congress and take authoritarian actions 22 times, a rate far higher than any previous president.
• The Supreme Court has issued 14 decisions that have been seen as favorable to Trump, often upholding his actions or giving him room to maneuver.

Sources:

• Greenhouse, S. (2022, April 10). "The Supreme Court's Pathetic Weakness Under Trump." The Guardian.
• Greenhouse, S. (2022, April 15). "A hidden measure in the Republican budget bill would crown Trump king." The Guardian.
• Reich, R. (2022, April 18). "A hidden measure in the Republican budget bill would crown Trump king." The Guardian.
• Müller, J.-W. (2022, April 20). "Trump's revenge spree on Harvard echoes well beyond education." The Guardian.