The Supreme Court will hand down rulings on multiple outstanding cases this week as the justices work to clear their docket before the summer recess ends in late June. With 20 cases still pending, the court faces pressure to issue major decisions, raising questions about whether the bench is running behind schedule.
Eight of the remaining cases directly involve Trump's expansive claims of presidential authority. The justices will rule on his push to restrict birthright citizenship, his efforts to fire heads of most independent agencies without cause, and his attempt to remove a sitting Federal Reserve governor from office.
Beyond the Trump cases, the court is deciding whether to uphold laws in roughly half the states that prohibit transgender girls and women from competing on public school and college sports teams. Cases from West Virginia and Idaho will shape the legal landscape on this contested issue.
Two election-related disputes remain unresolved. One involves state laws that allow grace periods for mailed ballots, provided they are sent by election day. The other concerns limits on political party spending to support candidates for Congress and the presidency.
The court is also weighing a case about geofence warrants, which law enforcement uses to collect the location history of cellphone users to identify people near crime scenes. Civil liberties advocates argue the practice amounts to a fishing expedition that violates privacy rights.
Meanwhile, the political world continues to churn around the courts. Biden recently claimed Trump has hurt America's global standing more than any president in history, remarks the president delivered at a Democratic gala in Maryland aimed at helping the party reclaim control of Congress in November.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told migrants with temporary protected status to either seek permanent residence or leave the country, following a recent Supreme Court decision that stripped humanitarian protections from hundreds of thousands of immigrants.
Away from substance, the Kennedy Center saw its own reminder of shifting power dynamics. Guests at the Mark Twain Prize ceremony on Sunday encountered a tarp concealing the spot where Trump's name had been removed from the building's marble facade. A federal judge last month ruled the renaming illegal and ordered the 18 letters erased after Trump installed himself as chair and his handpicked board voted to rename the venue the Trump Kennedy Center.
Author James Rodriguez: "The Supreme Court's docket has become a proxy war over presidential power, and these rulings will define what Trump can and cannot do if he returns to office."
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