Liberal justice says court is not a rubber stamp for president
Justice Elena Kagan on Thursday pushed back against the notion that the Supreme Court simply follows President Donald Trump’s agenda, telling an audience of legal professionals that the court has checked the executive branch on significant issues.
Speaking at a conference of judges and lawyers from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Bellevue, Washington, Kagan was asked whether the court’s conservative majority acts as a rubber stamp for Trump. “But is this court the kind of puppet for the current administration? I think definitely not,” she said, according to the Associated Press.
She pointed to two major rulings where the court rejected the president’s positions: its decision throwing out Trump’s sweeping tariffs on foreign goods, and its ruling that his attempt to end birthright citizenship for children of immigrants in the country illegally was unconstitutional. “At significant times, on some big issues, the court has checked the executive branch,” Kagan said.
The court has sided with the Trump administration in the vast majority of cases to come before it so far, including largely upholding his immigration crackdown and expanding his authority over federal regulatory agencies. Kagan is one of the court’s three liberal appointees, and she has been a frequent dissenter in the court’s conservative majority rulings.
Kagan’s remarks come amid historically low public trust in the court, with polling showing Americans expressing skepticism about its independence from partisan influence. Chief Justice John Roberts has also publicly defended the court’s legitimacy, saying it is not a political body.