Latest news with #JusticeSotomayor
Yahoo
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Polling Shows Americans Are Souring on Trump's Big Initiatives
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM's Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. Public support for the One Big Beautiful Bill is remarkably underwater by double digits in multiple polls, NBC reports. Similarly, bombing Iran is not popular, Greg Sargent explains at The New Republic. An analysis last week by the Pew Research Center found respondents had 'mixed to negative views' on Trump's immigration policies. The least popular actions, with the public disapproving by nine or more percentage points, were ICE raids at workplaces (-9%), building more detention facilities (-12%), ending Temporary Protected Status (-20%), suspending asylum applications (-21%), and deporting people to the CECOT prison in El Salvador (-24%). Another clash between the Trump administration and the courts is coming to a head in a case involving a group of migrants that the Trump administration wants to deport to South Sudan. Government lawyers on Tuesday accused federal district judge Brian Murphy of defying the Supreme Court's ruling allowing third-country removals to proceed. Murphy had asserted that the court's decision, which stayed a lower court's preliminary injunction, did not affect a separate 'order of remedy' applicable specifically to the men slated for removal to South Sudan. It was a reasonable conclusion because, as Justice Sonia Sotomayor made clear in her dissent—uncontested by the majority—the government had appealed the preliminary injunction, but not that other order. Nonetheless, government lawyers promptly accused Murphy of 'unprecedented defiance' of the Supreme Court's decision, insisting that it applied to all the orders Murphy has issued. The government then filed a motion at the high court, seeking clarification. Lawfare's Roger Parloff points out that in addition to asking the high court to clarify its Monday order (which arguably does not need any clarification), government lawyers also asked the justices to prevent Judge Murphy from issuing any further injunctions, or to remove him from the case. The government clearly sees Monday's order as an open invitation not only to flout lower court orders, but also to recruit the right-wing justices in a campaign of retribution against the judges who enter them. Meanwhile the risks to people caught up in the administration's third-country disappearances are not remote or hypothetical. Nick Turse reports at the Intercept that the administration has been using 'strong-arm tactics,' including threats of travel bans, in attempts to browbeat (aka 'make deals with') 53 different nations, 'including many that are beset by conflict or terrorist violence or that the State Department has excoriated for human rights abuses.' The Los Angeles Times has a chilling report on the terror being waged on immigrant communities by unidentified people, purportedly federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, in ways that have kept even local elected officials and law enforcement in the dark as to their identity. While the piece offers little hope for legally challenging these crackdowns, it does describe how public backlash to them can go viral, provoking officers to back down: In a video posted to Instagram from Pasadena, a suspected federal agent is seen exiting a Dodge Charger at an intersection and pointing his gun at members of the public. In the video, a person walks up to the back of the Dodge Charger and appears to take a photo of the license plate. That's when the driver gets out of the vehicle and points a gun at the person who was behind the vehicle, then toward another person outside of the video frame. The word 'Police' is visible on the driver's vest, along with a badge on his hip. After a few seconds, the man puts the gun away and gets back into the car as bystanders shout at him. The man then activates the vehicle's red and blue lights common to law enforcement vehicles and drives away. The car, the Times reports, had a 'cold' license plate, a tactic typically used by undercover cops to make the plate untraceable. In Jackson, Mississippi earlier this month, local police arrested Kerlin Moreno-Orellana for alleged illegal dumping when he was at work, performing tasks as directed by his boss. Now he's in ICE detention. The Mississippi Free Press reports: What followed Moreno-Orellana's arrest is a testament to the vast system behind U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's many detentions and deportations, both in the second Trump era and before. An automated message arrived at the office of the Pacific Enforcement Response Center, or PERC, in Laguna Niguel, California. ICE agents flagged Moreno-Orellana and forwarded it to the nearest ICE field office, likely one in Pearl, Mississippi. That office then put a detainer on Moreno-Orellana, a controversial practice that immigrant activists argue conscripts local police officers into the already enormous apparatus of ICE enforcement. The Hinds County Sheriff's Department complied with that detainer, turning Moreno-Orellana over to ICE Thursday morning. Then, Moreno-Orellana boarded the same long ride to Jena, Louisiana, that so many other Mississippi immigrants have experienced, often while bound and shackled, to be deposited in the crowded cells of the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center. For now, nothing in his life is certain, least of all the day when his children will see him again. The Project on Government Oversight digs into fresh disclosures of Stephen Miller's and other administration officials' investments in the Peter Thiel-founded Silicon Valley giant Palantir Technologies, whose data systems ICE has described as 'mission critical.' Religion News Service's Jack Jenkins has a deep dive into the religious ideology of Russell Vought, Trump's Director of the Office of Management and Budget and a key architect of Project 2025, the far-right blueprint for Trump's second term. Jenkins details 'how Christian nationalism provides the ideological foundation for Vought's plan to gut federal government and curtail immigration through the expansion of executive power.' Come for Vought's fake John Quincy Adams quotes and stay for how he believes the Bible contains 'principles for thoughtful, limited immigration and emphasizing assimilation.' America, Vought has said, needs 'Christians insistent on being responsible stewards of a blessing that has been God-given: to live in this land, this particular land.' House Speaker Mike Johnson claimed yesterday, 'We are not cutting Medicaid. The president has said that and I have said that. We're all said that. We're strengthening the program.' Johnson has said this before. And it's still not true. During a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. claimed that he had never promised Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) that, if confirmed, he would keep the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices intact. Cassidy has said that pledge was key to his decision to vote for his confirmation, but Kennedy purged the committee two weeks ago. Cassidy has called for a delay in convening the newly constituted panel of anti-vaxxers. In the Atlantic, Charlie Warzel and Hana Kiros assess Elon Musk's assault on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in the context of the billionaire's racist, eugenicist, natalist views on the virtues of 'Western civilization.' It's a portrait of an unhinged narcissist beyond the imaginings of the most dystopian science fiction: Cutting global aid frees up resources that can be used to help Americans, who, in turn, can work toward advancing Western civilization, in part by pursuing a MAGA political agenda and funding pronatalist programs that allow for privileged people (ideally white and 'high IQ') to have more children. The thinking seems to go like this: Who cares if people in South Sudan and Somalia die? Western civilization will thrive and propagate itself across the cosmos. In other DOGE news, Wired reports that Edward 'Big Balls' Coristine, the 19-year-old ground floor DOGE staffer deployed to multiple government agencies, including USAID, no longer works for the government. Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, killed in a political assassination targeting Democrats at her home earlier this month, will lie in state with her husband Mark and their golden retriever Gilbert at the Minnesota Capitol Friday. Their surviving children, Sophie and Colin, have asked that people honor their parents' memory by doing 'something, whether big or small, to make our community just a little better for someone else.' In a remarkable upset, disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has conceded to democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor. The result could well mark a party shift away from a fossilized old guard towards younger, progressive candidates determined to address income inequality and other quality of life concerns of Democratic voters.
National Post
28-06-2025
- Politics
- National Post
U.S. Supreme Court ruling gives Trump clearer path to carrying out his agenda
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling curbing the power of judges to block government actions on a nationwide basis has raised questions about whether dozens of orders that have halted President Donald Trump's policies will stand. Article content The conservative majority's ruling Friday came in a fight over Trump's plan to limit automatic birthright citizenship. But it may have far-reaching consequences for the ability of U.S. courts to issue orders that apply to anyone affected by a policy, not just the parties who filed lawsuits. Article content Article content Article content Trump hailed the decision as a 'monumental victory.' By curbing so-called nationwide injunctions, the ruling could help Trump fend off other challenges to his ambitious agenda. Trump and his allies argued that a single judge generally shouldn't have the power to block a federal government policy across the country. Article content Article content 'Federal courts do not exercise general oversight of the executive branch,' Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for the court's conservative majority. 'They resolve cases and controversies consistent with the authority Congress has given them.' Article content 'With the stroke of a pen, the president has made a solemn mockery of our Constitution,' Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote. 'Rather than stand firm, the court gives way.' Article content Judges entered nationwide preliminary orders halting Trump administration actions in at least four dozen of the 400 lawsuits filed since he took office in January, according to a Bloomberg News analysis. Some were later put on hold on appeal. Article content Article content Nationwide orders currently in place include blocks on the administration's revocation of foreign students' legal status, freezes of domestic spending and foreign aid, funding cuts related to gender-affirming care and legal services for migrant children, and proof-of-citizenship rules for voting. Article content Article content The Supreme Court's new precedent doesn't instantly invalidate injunctions in those cases. But the Justice Department could quickly ask federal judges to revisit the scope of these and other earlier orders in light of the opinion. Article content 'Everything is fair game,' said Dan Huff, a lawyer who served in the White House counsel's office during Trump's first term. Article content Trump listed cases that they would target, including suspending refugee resettlement, freezing unnecessary funding and 'stopping federal taxpayers from paying for transgender surgeries.'
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Supreme Court upholds ban on medical treatment for transgender minors
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court in a ruling released Wednesday upheld a Tennessee law that bans gender-related medical treatments for transgender minors. The court rejected an argument that the ban violates the Constitution's equal protection clause. The ruling affirmed a previous decision by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals that a Tennessee law banning certain treatments, like puberty blockers and hormone treatments, can remain in place. In the 6-3 decision, delivered by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court said the case carries the weight of 'fierce scientific and policy debates about the safety, efficacy and propriety' of medical treatments in the 'evolving' field. 'The voices in these debates raise sincere concerns; the implications for all are profound,' Roberts wrote. Roberts said the court's role is to ensure the Tennessee law does not violate the Constitution's equal protection clause and is not subject to heightened scrutiny. He was joined by the other conservative justices, including Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Thomas and Barrett issued separate concurring opinions. 'Having concluded that it does not, we leave questions regarding its policy to the people, their elected representatives, and the democratic process,' Roberts wrote. The three liberal justices dissented. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, and was joined in full by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and in part by Justice Elena Kagan. Sotomayor argued that the court is authorizing 'untold harm' to transgender children and their families. 'Because there is no constitutional justification for that result, I dissent,' she said. The case stems from a doctor, parents and transgender minors who challenged Tennessee's law. They secured a partial victory at the district court level, when the court ruled transgender youth should have access to treatments that were available to non-transgender peers. The 6th Circuit overturned that decision on an appeal and argued the policy does not promote sex discrimination. The Supreme Court's ruling Wednesday affirmed the circuit court decision. The case could impact around two dozen other states who also have similar gender-related restrictions on treatments, including Utah, and is a setback for some in the LGBTQ+ community who disagree with the Trump administration's actions on transgender issues. Sen. Mike Lee was supportive of the Supreme Court's decision. 'A great victory for America's children and the right of states to protect them,' he said Wednesday in a post on X.
Reuters
17-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US Supreme Court justices disclose income from book deals and teaching
WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson received a book advance of more than $2 million for her bestselling memoir, and other justices reported lucrative law school teaching positions in annual financial disclosure forms released on Tuesday. Eight of the nine justices disclosed their 2024 outside income and gifts, as required for certain senior government officials. Justice Samuel Alito was granted a 90-day extension, according to the court. The filings showed the outside income, gifts and investment transactions for the justices last year. The filings are closely watched as the justices in recent years have come under scrutiny over ethics questions following revelations that some of them failed to report luxury trips, including on private jets, and real estate transactions. As in recent years, the disclosures showed the lucrative nature of book publishing for members of the nation's highest judicial body. Jackson said she received a $2,068,750 book advance last year from Penguin Random House for her memoir "Lovely One." That comes after a previously reported 2023 advance of $893,750 for the book chronicling her ascent as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. She also reported being reimbursed by her publisher last year for more than a dozen book events across the country beginning in August when her memoir hit bookshelves. Justice Neil Gorsuch reported book royalty income of more than $250,000, while Justice Sonia Sotomayor reported nearly $74,000 in royalties, as well as a $60,000 advance for a new children's book, set for release in September. Some of the justices reported income from law school teaching roles. Gorsuch reported an income of $30,379 from George Mason University for teaching a roughly two-week course in July 2024 in Porto, Portugal. Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett each received $31,815 from the University of Notre Dame Law School, with Kavanaugh having a teaching stint in October 2024 and Barrett having one in August 2024, according to their filings. Chief Justice John Roberts co-taught a two-week course in Galway, Ireland in July 2024 for New England Law, a private Boston-based law school, but his compensation was not reported in his 2024 disclosure because he was paid in February 2025. Just like last year, Alito was granted a 90-day extension. His disclosure last year reported receiving concert tickets in 2023 worth $900 from Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, a German aristocrat. The justices in 2023 adopted their first code of conduct governing their ethical behavior following revelations of undisclosed luxury trips and hobnobbing with wealthy benefactors. Critics and some congressional Democrats have said the ethics code does not go far enough to promote transparency, continuing to leave decisions to recuse from cases to the justices themselves and providing no mechanism of enforcement.
New York Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Supreme Court Orders Maine House to Restore Voting Power to Censured Lawmaker, for Now
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered Maine legislators to temporarily restore the voting power of a state lawmaker after she had been censured for a social media post that criticized transgender athletes' participation in girls' sports. The order was unsigned and did not provide the court's reasoning, as is typical in such emergency applications. No vote count was listed, but Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted she would have denied the application, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote a dissent. The court order provided no further explanation on next steps, but the legislator, State Representative Laurel Libby, had asked in her application to immediately be allowed to participate in the current legislative session, which ends in June. Lawmakers had censured Ms. Libby, a Republican from Auburn, in February after she wrote a Facebook post criticizing the participation of a transgender athlete who had won a high school pole-vaulting competition. Ms. Libby included the name and photos of the student in the post, which went viral. The formal reprimand of Ms. Libby prevented her from voting or speaking on the House floor until she apologized for the post. Lawmakers, in a party-line vote, had also found her in violation of the state's Legislative Code of Ethics, which includes a provision asserting that a legislator is 'entrusted with the security, safety, health, prosperity, respect and general well-being of those the legislator serves and with whom the legislator serves.' Ms. Libby filed a lawsuit on March 11 in federal court in Maine, suing the House speaker, Ryan Fecteau, a Democrat. She claimed that her punishment violated the Constitution by stripping 'a duly elected Republican member' of the 'right to speak and vote on the House floor.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
