MAGA MELTDOWN Over SCOTUS 'BETRAYAL' Of Trump
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Summary
Takeaways
- ❖Conservative figures like Steve Bannon and Benny Johnson expressed strong disappointment and a sense of 'betrayal' over Justice Amy Coney Barrett's votes, particularly in the mail-in ballot case.
- ❖The Supreme Court's decision to allow the President to fire the FTC Commissioner significantly expands executive power over most independent agencies, effectively overturning the 1935 Humphrey's Executive case.
- ❖The Court distinguished the Federal Reserve, ruling that its governors are protected from at-will presidential removal, a distinction critics argue lacks clear legal rationale and protects financial institutions.
- ❖The ruling on mail-in ballots affirmed state laws allowing ballots received after election day (if postmarked by then), limiting a potential pretext for federal intervention in elections.
- ❖A major civil liberties victory was achieved as the Court ruled that geofence warrants, which collect broad location data, constitute a Fourth Amendment search and require specific protections.
- ❖Justice Neil Gorsuch's concurring opinion signals future challenges to the regulatory state by potentially reviving doctrines like non-delegation and major questions.
Insights
1Expansion of Executive Power over Independent Agencies
The Supreme Court ruled that the President can fire the FTC Commissioner at will, effectively overturning the 1935 Humphrey's Executive case. This decision is seen as the most elaborate exposition on the unitary executive theory, consolidating presidential control over most independent agencies by asserting that executive officials 'borrow' the President's power.
The decision allowed Donald Trump to fire Rebecca Slaughter, the FTC commissioner, formalizing the overturning of Humphrey's Executive. The logic is based on Article II's vesting clause and historical congressional practice regarding removal authority.
2Federal Reserve's Unique Protection from Executive Removal
Despite expanding presidential removal power, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump's firing of Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve was unconstitutional, citing a lack of procedural protections. Critics argue this distinction, which protects the Fed while exposing other agencies, lacks a strong legal basis and reflects a political deference to financial institutions.
John Roberts wrote both the FTC and Fed opinions. The Fed decision required procedural protections for Lisa Cook, distinguishing it from the FTC ruling. Pisco notes the opinion offers little substantive legal rationale for treating the Fed differently, despite its immense influence on private parties.
3Mail-in Ballot Ruling and Conservative Backlash
The Court upheld state laws allowing mail-in ballots to be received after election day, provided they are postmarked by election day. This decision, penned by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, was framed as an originalist interpretation of state control over elections, but it drew sharp criticism from the MAGA wing, who viewed it as a 'betrayal' and another reason to push for restrictive voting legislation.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the 5-4 opinion, making an originalist argument about states' ability to define 'election day' for mailing purposes. Steve Bannon and Benny Johnson expressed outrage, using the ruling to advocate for the 'Save America Act' to limit voting.
4Strengthening Fourth Amendment Protections for Location Data
In a win for civil liberties, the Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement's use of geofence warrants constitutes a 'search' under the Fourth Amendment. This expands on the 2018 Carpenter decision, requiring more specific warrants and guardrails before the government can access broad location data from services like Google.
The 'geofence warrant decision' (A7) ruled that law enforcement's use of such warrants was a search, extending privacy protections from cell tower data to more precise Google location services, which provide more comprehensive information.
Bottom Line
The Supreme Court's distinction between the FTC and the Federal Reserve regarding presidential removal power may be a politically motivated 'split the baby' approach, protecting powerful financial institutions from executive interference while consolidating power over other regulatory bodies.
This suggests that the Court, particularly Chief Justice Roberts, is keenly aware of political and economic sensitivities, potentially prioritizing the stability and independence of the financial sector over a consistent application of unitary executive theory across all agencies.
Analysts should scrutinize future SCOTUS decisions for similar 'carve-outs' that appear to protect specific powerful sectors or institutions, rather than applying a uniform legal philosophy, to anticipate areas of judicial intervention or restraint.
Justice Neil Gorsuch's concurring opinion in the executive power cases signals a future intent to revive doctrines like non-delegation and major questions, which could fundamentally challenge the constitutionality of many existing regulatory agencies.
This indicates that while the current Court is expanding presidential power, it simultaneously aims to dismantle the broader regulatory state, potentially creating a future where a Democratic president, despite having more direct control, would face significant hurdles in establishing new regulations or even maintaining existing ones.
Policymakers and legal scholars should prepare for a sustained judicial assault on the administrative state, exploring legislative strategies or alternative regulatory frameworks that can withstand challenges based on revived non-delegation or major questions doctrines.
Lessons
- Understand the expanded scope of presidential power: Recognize that future presidents will have greater authority to shape and direct most independent agencies, influencing regulatory enforcement and policy implementation.
- Monitor judicial appointments closely: The conservative backlash against Trump's appointees highlights the unpredictable nature of judicial philosophy; focus on a nominee's specific legal reasoning rather than perceived political alignment.
- Advocate for digital privacy: The geofence warrant decision is a step forward, but citizens should remain vigilant about data collection practices and support further legislation or legal challenges to protect personal location and other digital data from broad government access.
Quotes
"You're going to get another wakeup call and that's on um birthright citizenship. Con Barrett and that crowd, man, she was a lovely pick. Did anybody do any due diligence here? I know it was quite behind the scenes. It was quite contentious before, but the right to life crowd, hey, did you do your due diligence? Are you happy with what you got?"
"The stalwart Catholic conservative upholding of uh Christian and constitutional values morphed almost immediately into one of these little short goblins which make up the only three left-wing Supreme Court justices."
"This is the most clear and elaborate exposition on the unitary executive theory that we've had, even more so, I would say, than Trump versus United States, the immunity decision. So very impactful because essentially what this uh decision says is for most quote unquote independent agencies that the president is going to retain removal authority and thereby a lot more control over these independent agencies."
"Humphrey's executive is dead and the president can fire anyone in the executive branch at will but not Federal Reserve governors is really a parody of the difference between the money power and everything else in America."
"It's a wonderful opinion from from Amy Coney Barrett. I mean she goes through the dictionary definition of the term election. She runs through the history to say why it isn't the case that this is how you should best read the statutes as requiring instead of casting your ballot on election day as receiving them ballots on election day."
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