Lisa Rubin: “In an era where fidelity to the whims of Trump is far more important than allegiance to any conservative legal agenda, much less the rule of law, Trump aims to be the sole arbiter of who’s qualified and fit for federal judgeships.”
“If Trump can reduce or even eliminate both the ABA’s and the Federalist Society’s impact on the judicial selection process, he’ll become the only judge of judges who matters — which is exactly, I would posit, how he wants it.”
“President Donald Trump has privately complained that the Supreme Court justices he appointed have not sufficiently stood behind his agenda,” CNN reports.
“But he has directed particular ire at Justice Amy Coney Barrett, his most recent appointee.”
“The behind-closed-doors grievances have been wide-ranging, and while many have been about Barrett, Trump has also expressed frustration about Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh… The complaints have gone on for at least a year.”
President Trump won the “appeals court lottery” last night, after one of his appeals to a judgment challenging his tariff powers was handed to the only three Trump-appointed judges that sit on the D.C. Circuit Court, Politico reports.
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“The beginning of June marks the start of the traditional monthlong ruling season at the Supreme Court, when the justices hand down decisions in their biggest and most contentious cases,” NBC News reports.
“But this year is different.”
“President Donald Trump’s second term has disrupted the court calendar, with the nine justices now spending as much time, if not more, juggling consequential emergency cases that need to be handled quickly as they do on the regular docket of cases that have gotten months of attention and deliberation.”
“During the Biden administration, conservative challengers won Supreme Court victories that limited the president’s power to craft policy in matters from student-debt relief to air pollution,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Now, those precedents are returning to haunt one of their greatest champions: President Trump.”
Ilya Somin: “A court’s decision affirmed a fundamental American principle: The president is no king, and he does not have the power to impose taxes in the form of tariffs whenever he feels like it.”
“President Donald Trump leveled unusually pointed criticism of a prominent conservative legal activist and organization Thursday as he railed against a ruling that struck down his sweeping tariffs,” Politico reports.
“The president, in a post on his social media platform, slammed Leonard Leo, the former chair of the Federalist Society, calling him a ‘sleazebag’ who ‘probably hates America.’”
“It was a striking characterization of Leo, who played a key role in working with Trump to shape the conservative Supreme Court.”
New York Times: “Even by the judge-bashing standards of the Trump administration, the White House’s sharp reactions this week to court decisions curtailing its agenda appeared to intensify a strategic effort to undermine confidence in the judiciary.”
Axios: Trump administration escalates attacks on judges.
“A federal appeals court on Thursday reinstated the most sweeping of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, a day after a trade court had ruled Trump had exceeded his authority in imposing the duties and had ordered an immediate block on them,” Reuters reports.
“The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington’s order provided no opinion or reasoning but directed the plaintiffs in the case to respond by June 5 and the administration by June 9.”
Wall Street Journal: “The order, known as an administrative stay, wasn’t a ruling on the merits of the litigation. Administrative stays are common in emergency appeals.”
“The Trump administration said it may ask the U.S. Supreme Court as soon as Friday to immediately pause a federal court ruling blocking many of President Donald Trump’s tariffs,” CNBC reports.
“But the government said it will only take that step if the federal appeals court does not quickly issue at least a temporary pause of the tariff ruling.”
“The Supreme Court on Thursday limited the scope of environmental reviews of major infrastructure projects in a decision that could speed up approvals of highways, airports and pipelines,” CNN reports.
“The decision is the latest setback for environmentalists at the conservative Supreme Court, which has in recent years shut down regulations intended to protect wetlands, for instance, and reduce air pollution wafting across state lines.”
New Republic: “The president’s attack on Big Law is so outrageous that it’s made at least one judge raise his voice, even on paper.”
“President Trump on Wednesday said he would nominate Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official who previously served as his criminal defense attorney, to a seat on a federal appeals court,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that President Trump’s attempt to punish an elite law firm associated with his political opposition was unconstitutional and directed the government not to enforce an order Mr. Trump signed in March that had threatened its business,” the New York Times reports.
“Siding with WilmerHale, which sued to block the president’s order, Judge Richard Leon of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia wrote that Mr. Trump appeared intent on coercing the firm to the bargaining table under the threat of harsh penalties.”
“The ruling was welcome news for the handful of law firms that opted to fight the White House even as several of their peers caved to the pressure campaign and made deals with Mr. Trump to avoid persecution.”
“President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to make it easier for his administration to deport people to South Sudan and other countries that are not their homeland, the latest in a series of controversial immigration policies the administration has put before the conservative-majority high court,” CNN reports.
“The issue involves a policy the administration adopted soon after returning to power, which allows the Department of Homeland Security to deport immigrants to nations other than their home country or one where they have legal status – without first notifying them or giving them a chance to claim they risk persecution, torture, or death in that other country.”
Kate Shaw: “The court may believe that it retains the ultimate authority to check presidential lawlessness, even as it signs off on the elimination of many other constraints on presidential power. The danger is that by the time the court tries to exercise that authority, it may be too late.”
Adam Bonica: “In May 2025, federal district courts ruled against the Trump administration in 26 of 27 cases—a stunning 96% loss rate.”
“The data is stunning—but will it matter when cases reach higher courts?”
“The sprawling domestic policy bill Republicans pushed through the House on Thursday would limit the power of federal judges to hold people in contempt, potentially shielding President Trump and members of his administration from the consequences of violating court orders,” the New York Times reports.
“Republicans tucked the provision into the tax and spending cut bill at a time when they have moved aggressively to curb the power of federal courts to issue injunctions blocking Mr. Trump’s executive actions.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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