By Daniel Nardini
We have to keep in mind that the current U.S. Supreme Court is largely made up of ultra-conservatives who are more in line with the Republican Party than anything else. Yes, current U.S. President Donald Trump has won some victories at the Court, and is benefiting from these decisions. The first win is Trump now being able to fire personnel in federal agencies who were protected from arbitrary dismissal. Then there is the ruling by the Court that has given Trump the power to install or remove any and all personnel from the National Labor Relations Board. Before, this was not possible. Finally, Trump won on being able to get emergency stays for stopping some actions by lower courts over legal issues.
Despite these wins for Trump, he took serious losses as well. Losses that will now determine precedent for the U.S. Constitution that Trump cannot reverse. The biggest loss for Trump was birthright citizenship. This is part of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This amendment was passed by both the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and three-fourths of the states before it became law in 1868. Despite attempts to overturn the law, it has never been overturned. Trump’s attempt to do so has utterly failed. Now it is truly set law. The second biggest loss for Trump is mail-in voting. Mail-in voting has been part of the election system in the United States since the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865). Now with the U.S. mid-term election coming up, there is no way to stop mail-in voting from happening.
The next big loss was that Trump has no power to fire or replace without due cause the Federal Reserve chair. Back in 1932, the U.S. Supreme Court then ruled that the President of the United States could not remove without due cause the chair of the Federal Reserve. While this is a federal agency, it is a very independent federal agency. The Court simply reinforced this with its latest ruling. Finally, although not as earth-shattering, Trump lost any further chance of appealing a lawsuit by E. Jean Carol over allegations he committed sexual assault and defamation against her. Trump must now pay $5 million ruled by a New York court. Trump tried to use his status as president to shield him from this responsibility. He should have remembered that former U.S. President Bill Clinton tried the same thing, and it did not work.
What can I make of all this? It means that the U.S. Supreme Court, no matter what its political split, intends to be an equal branch of government and not kowtow to President Trump. Obviously Trump does not like being defied, but if he truly flouts the authority of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court might just rule even further against him. Trump still needs the Court for the near future. At the same time, the Court has made it clear it will not be a mere rubber stamp like the U.S. Congress has become. Can we expect more good and bad decisions by the Court in the future? No doubt. But the Court has made it clear it will not bow down to Trump or the U.S. Congress. It is becoming clear the Court is functioning as the creators of the U.S. Constitution had intended it to operate.
In Defense of the U.S. Supreme Court
By Daniel Nardini
Despite these wins for Trump, he took serious losses as well. Losses that will now determine precedent for the U.S. Constitution that Trump cannot reverse. The biggest loss for Trump was birthright citizenship. This is part of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This amendment was passed by both the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and three-fourths of the states before it became law in 1868. Despite attempts to overturn the law, it has never been overturned. Trump’s attempt to do so has utterly failed. Now it is truly set law. The second biggest loss for Trump is mail-in voting. Mail-in voting has been part of the election system in the United States since the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865). Now with the U.S. mid-term election coming up, there is no way to stop mail-in voting from happening.
The next big loss was that Trump has no power to fire or replace without due cause the Federal Reserve chair. Back in 1932, the U.S. Supreme Court then ruled that the President of the United States could not remove without due cause the chair of the Federal Reserve. While this is a federal agency, it is a very independent federal agency. The Court simply reinforced this with its latest ruling. Finally, although not as earth-shattering, Trump lost any further chance of appealing a lawsuit by E. Jean Carol over allegations he committed sexual assault and defamation against her. Trump must now pay $5 million ruled by a New York court. Trump tried to use his status as president to shield him from this responsibility. He should have remembered that former U.S. President Bill Clinton tried the same thing, and it did not work.
What can I make of all this? It means that the U.S. Supreme Court, no matter what its political split, intends to be an equal branch of government and not kowtow to President Trump. Obviously Trump does not like being defied, but if he truly flouts the authority of the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court might just rule even further against him. Trump still needs the Court for the near future. At the same time, the Court has made it clear it will not be a mere rubber stamp like the U.S. Congress has become. Can we expect more good and bad decisions by the Court in the future? No doubt. But the Court has made it clear it will not bow down to Trump or the U.S. Congress. It is becoming clear the Court is functioning as the creators of the U.S. Constitution had intended it to operate.