US Supreme Court Empowers Trump with Key Rulings

The US Supreme Court has handed a significant victory to Donald Trump by limiting the power of lower courts to block his executive orders, including one aimed at ending birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants born on US soil. The court's decision allows Trump's executive order to go into effect in a month, but leaves room for lower courts to curb its impact. The ruling broadens presidential power and emboldens Trump to enact other policy actions that have been blocked by lower courts, including cuts to foreign assistance, diversity programs, and immigration reforms. However, states may resist implementing the administration's plan, and lower courts can still issue narrower injunctions or ultimately block the order if deemed unconstitutional.

The US Supreme Court has ruled that federal judges have been overreaching by blocking executive orders issued by the president, in a 6-3 decision that is seen as a significant win for President Donald Trump. The ruling limits the power of federal judges to issue nationwide injunctions, freeing up the president to push his agenda with fewer blocks and barriers. Critics, including Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, have described the decision as "an unprecedented and terrifying step towards authoritarianism" and a "grave danger to our democracy". Liberal justices dissented, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson writing that the majority saw a power grab by district courts rather than the executive branch, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor describing the ruling as "an open invitation for the government to bypass the constitution". The decision is expected to embolden the Trump administration to push through its policy agenda.

A federal judge in Washington ruled that an executive order by President Trump targeting the law firm Susman Godfrey was unconstitutional, permanently blocking its enforcement. The order had imposed penalties on the firm for representing groups opposing Trump, including Dominion Voting Systems in a defamation case against Fox News. Judge Loren L. AliKhan found that the administration had attempted to intimidate the firm for taking positions against Trump, violating the Constitution and threatening the independence of the legal bar. This decision follows three similar rulings from other judges, all of whom rejected Trump's orders targeting other law firms, with none of the decisions being appealed by the Trump administration.

The Supreme Court's ruling allows President Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship to take effect in 28 states, potentially depriving babies born to undocumented immigrants of U.S. citizenship. The order was previously blocked by nationwide injunctions, but the court rejected those injunctions, clearing the way for the policy to be applied in states that did not challenge it. The ruling does not address the constitutionality of the order, and immigrant rights groups are planning to file new lawsuits, potentially as class-action cases, to challenge the policy. The outcome is uncertain, and it is unclear whether babies born to undocumented parents will be considered stateless or deportable. If the order is eventually invalidated, it is possible that children born in the meantime could be retroactively granted citizenship, but this would require a bureaucratic process.