Thursday, May 15 | By Jonathan Easley |
Supreme Court considers limiting nationwide injunctions
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THE SUPREME COURT on Thursday considered arguments on ending nationwide injunctions, which lower court judges have used to block some of President Trump's policies. The oral arguments at the high court were ostensibly centered on a challenge to Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship, which is aimed at children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrant parents. But for now, the justices are considering the more narrow question of whether it's legal for a lower court to block federal policies nationwide — as happened with Trump's birthright citizenship order and others. "There are 'more than 1,000 active and senior district court judges, sitting across 94 judicial districts,'" the Trump administration argued in a filing. "[T]he Executive Branch cannot properly perform its functions if any judge anywhere can enjoin every presidential action everywhere." The justices seemed divided on the issue, with conservatives expressing concern about lower court judges overstepping their authority by implementing the nationwide injunctions, rather than more narrowly blocking the orders for the parties seeking relief. "We survived until the 1960s without universal injunctions," conservative Justice Clarence Thomas said. The liberal justices, meanwhile, worried that barring nationwide injunctions in this case would allow the administration to implement an order they view as plainly unconstitutional. "As far as I see it, this order violates four Supreme Court precedents," said liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The Hill's Zach Schonfeld writes: "The decision is poised to greatly impact Trump's ability to enact his executive orders by potentially removing a key tool that plaintiffs have employed in dozens of lawsuits to try to stop Trump's agenda, ranging from actions over federal grant freezes to transgender troops to birthright citizenship." Trump weighed in ahead of the hearing to argue on the merits of his executive order, which would limit birthright citizenship to those who have at least one parent with citizenship or permanent legal status. "Birthright Citizenship was not meant for people taking vacations to become permanent Citizens of the United States of America, and bringing their families with them, all the time laughing at the 'SUCKERS' that we are!," Trump posted on social media. "The United States of America is the only Country in the World that does this, for what reason, nobody knows — But the drug cartels love it!" The text of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution begins: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." |
The court's decision season began Thursday, which leaves the justices with a short timeframe to issues decisions on multiple cases before their summer break. Here are some of the major cases this term: Gender-affirming care • Is Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors unconstitutional?
Age-verification laws • Can Texas constitutionally impose age-verification laws for porn sites? Reverse discrimination • To win an employment discrimination claim, must members of a majority demographic clear more legal hurdles than minority groups? Ghost guns • Was the Biden-era crackdown on so-called ghost guns constitutional? Publicly-funded charter schools • Can Oklahoma approve the first publicly funded religious charter school in the country? |
💡Perspectives: • Reason: Trump's case against birthright citizenship is a constitutional loser. • Ross Barkan: MAGA in twilight. • The Liberal Patriot: The progressive moment is still over. • MSNBC: Trump's ceasefire with the Houthis was a win. • City Journal: Battle over campus identity politics only beginning. |
Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan pleaded not guilty to helping a man in the country illegally evade federal immigration agents. Harvard's president is taking a 25 percent pay cut amid the funding battle with the Trump administration. Here are the actions Trump has taken against Harvard so far. More than 1,000 Starbucks baristas at 75 U.S. stores have gone on strike to protest a new company dress code.
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© Alex Brandon, Associated Press |
Trump teases deals on final leg of Middle East journey
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President Trump is in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday for the final leg of his trip to the Middle East, where he teased new potential breakthroughs. The president signaled the U.S. is closing in on a deal with Iran over its nuclear program, saying the country has "sort of agreed to the terms." According to NBC, the U.S. would lift economic sanctions on Iran. In exchange, Iran would commit to never making nuclear weapons; get rid of its existing stockpiles; and allow for international inspectors to supervise uranium enrichment at lower levels for civilian use. Trump also suggested the U.S. could "take" Gaza and turn it into a "freedom zone." Back home, efforts to investigate Qatar's offer of a luxury jet to Trump to use as Air Force One are picking up steam. "The American people deserve to understand this administration's plans for securing this aircraft, the vulnerabilities its use will present to our national security and the price tag they will be asked to pay for President Trump's decision to integrate this aircraft into our most sensitive fleet," Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and other lawmakers wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Republican lawmakers are also raising concerns. "I'm not comfortable accepting it," Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) said. "I think there are national security concerns that need to be addressed about listening devices, safety specs and potentially other issues." Trump's reshaping of U.S. relations in the Middle East has received mixed reviews from Democrats, after he set a new course in Syria and struck economic and defense deals with Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), slammed Trump's support for deals to sell advanced U.S. chip technology to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. "We have no clarity on how the Saudis and Emiratis will prevent the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese government, the Chinese manufacturing establishment from getting their hands on these chips," Schumer said. But Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said in an interview with Politico: "I'm not in the habit of praising Donald Trump but ... I think the president has, in this last week or so, played the Middle East pretty darn well." |
💡Perspectives: • The Hill: Trump can't keep chasing a cease-fire Russia doesn't want. • The Free Press: The hidden cruelty of capping drug prices. • Commonplace: Trade with China should be uncertain. • Los Angeles Times: Will the Qatar gift to Trump fly? • The Hill: Trump's economic roller-coaster is not for the faint of heart. |
GOP grasps for consensus on Trump agenda bill
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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) huddled with warring conservative factions Thursday, as Republicans battled themselves to find consensus on the bill containing President Trump's agenda. Johnson met privately with House fiscal conservatives seeking steep cuts to Medicaid and more stringent work requirements. He also met with Republicans from blue states seeking a higher cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions. Johnson emerged from the meeting saying he's open to raising the SALT cap but that they'd have to tweak other parts of the bill to make ends meet. "If you do more on SALT, you have to find more in savings," Johnson said. "So these are the dials, the metaphorical dials I'm talking about." "Everything is on the table," he added. But The Hill's Emily Brooks and Mychael Schnell report that the bill is on thin ice ahead of a key Budget Committee vote Friday, with hard-liners threatening to sink it. "Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) both said they plan to vote against advancing the GOP's megabill in its latest form when it comes up for a key vote in the Budget Committee, enough to stop it from moving forward," Brooks and Schnell report. Several others are undecided or won't say how they'll vote, as they wait for scorekeepers to determine what changes to the bill might mean for spending, tax cuts and the deficit. Republicans from red states think the SALT cap is high enough and feel their constituents are on the hook for higher tax deductions for people living in states with high taxes. "If a $30,000 State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction isn't good enough for those making under $400,000 then you need to either vote Republican in NY or you need to move!," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) posted on X. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), who is among the SALT caucus members who say they'll vote against the final bill if the cap isn't raised, responded: "[T]he reason you enjoy a gavel is because Republicans like me have won our seats. Good luck being in the Majority if we don't." |
© PNam Y. Huh, Associated Press |
Dems, media reckon with Biden allegations
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Democrats are being hounded by questions about what they knew of former President Biden's decline, and the news media is wrestling with allegations it failed to adequately cover a scandal in the White House. The latest revelation from the forthcoming book "Original Sin" by journalists Alex Thompson and Jake Tapper is that Biden's inner circle shielded him from Cabinet members to hide his physical and mental decline. "The Cabinet secretaries were no longer even directly briefing the president in any regular way," Tapper said on CNN, citing discussions with former Cabinet members. "Instead, they briefed senior White House aides, who would then speak to Biden." Democrats have largely dodged questions about what they knew and when they knew it. CNN's Kasie Hunt asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) if he really had no idea Biden was "not fit to serve a second term." "We're looking forward," he replied. But some Democrats have begun acknowledging Biden's alleged cognitive decline now that the floodgates have opened on the reporting. "There's no doubt about it," Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told Politico when asked about whether Biden's mental acuity went downhill toward the end of his presidency. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) posted on X that "it is obvious now" based on reporting that Biden "was not in a condition to run for reelection, and he should have made the decision not to." "We must be honest with people about our party's mistake," Khanna added. Journalists are also faced with uncomfortable questions about why it wasn't a bigger story while Biden was still in office. Many news outlets reported White House claims that videos circulating showing Biden appearing confused were right-wing "cheap fakes." "I think some of the criticism is fair, to be honest, of me," Tapper said on CNN. "Certainly I'm not going to speak for anybody else, but knowing then what I know now, I look back at my coverage during the Biden years and I did cover some of these issues, but not enough. I look back on it with humility." |
💡Perspectives: • Salon: DNC drama is quickly becoming the Democrats' brand. • Fox News: Why SCOTUS should eliminate universal injunctions. • The Hill: Trump dips into the Fox News talent agency yet again. • Wall Street Journal: Welcome to the post-progressive political era. • The Bulwark: Buttigieg returns to Iowa with a beard and baggage. |
Read more: • Trump gets unlikely visitors at White House: Democrats. • Dem drops effort to force impeachment vote — for now. |
Russia-Ukraine talks teeter
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Turkey on Thursday for planned peace talks, but Russian President Vladimir Putin was a no-show. Zelensky fumed, saying Putin's absence was evidence he's not serious about ending the war. "From what we see, it looks like a sham," Zelensky said. There were hopes that Putin and Zelensky would meet face to face in Turkey, but Putin instead sent a junior aide. The talks have been downgraded and pushed to Friday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the "only way" for a peace deal is for Trump and Putin to meet in person. Trump left open the possibility of traveling to Turkey to join the talks Friday, saying there's still hope if he gets together with Putin and Zelensky himself. "Look, nothing's going to happen until Putin and I get together, ok?," Trump said. "And obviously he wasn't going to go. He was going to go, but he thought I was going to go. He wasn't going if I wasn't there." As Trump was signing the official UAE guestbook, he added: "We'll be leaving tomorrow morning as you know, almost destination unknown." |
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned Thursday that the U.S. "may be entering a period of more frequent, and potentially more persistent, supply shocks" that will be a "difficult challenge for the economy and for central banks." U.S. wholesale prices dropped unexpectedly in April despite Trump's tariffs. The producer price index, which gauges inflation, fell by the largest amount in five years. Walmart said Thursday it may have to hike prices on some goods due to tariffs. |
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