The Supreme Court Won’t Save Us. Public Opinion Might
‘John Roberts is presiding over the end of the rule of law in America,’ his former colleague tells me. Only democracy can constrain Trump now.
First, a note about a Substack Live I’m hosting TOMORROW: Join me as I speak with Amanda Litman, the co-founder of Run for Something, on Thursday at 9AM EST / 2PM GMT on Substack. We’ll discuss the path ahead for Democrats amid the high of Election 2025, the low of shutdown surrender, and the ongoing left-right, up-down, old-new debate over how to defeat Trumpism. We’ll take your questions too.
Anyone disturbed by Donald Trump’s runaway lawlessness saw something encouraging last week: the Supreme Court preparing to hold up a stop sign.
Yes, THAT Supreme Court, with the 6-3 conservative majority that includes three justices who owe their seats to Trump. Even as the president bleated that tariffs represent “LIFE OR DEATH for our country,” the court signaled he may have exceeded his legal authority in imposing them.
With congressional Republicans abandoning their constitutional role of checking executive power, the justices’ skepticism felt like a tonic. Federal district judges have called out Trump overreaches all year; the Supreme Court has mostly stepped aside. On tariffs, justices may have found a line to draw.
If so, they’ll help US consumers and businesses. But that can only go so far against the backdrop of abuse this vast. The Supreme Court can’t, and won’t, save the American experiment from Trump’s wrecking ball.