The United States Supreme Court at times would step in during President-elect Donald Trump's first term to block his more extreme policies. This time around, however, legal analysts are speculating whether Trump in his second term will actually abide by their orders.
The Washington Post spoke with legal analysts questioned whether the High Court would restrain Trump and what Trump would do when they try to rein him in.
Georgetown University Law Professor Steve Vladeck confessed, “I don’t have any faith that the court is going to stand up to Trump in all cases. But I think it will stand up to him in some cases, and the question is then what?”
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He isn't certain whether Trump would comply with a Supreme Court ruling that he didn't agree with.
“Or are we going to see, the sort of break the glass conversations? That to me is the real big picture question looming over the court right now," Vladeck continued.
In his first term, Trump came into office demanding a 90-day pause on all travelers coming into the U.S. from predominantly Muslim countries. It was ultimately shut down by the Court, as was the second attempt at the ban. By the end of Sept. 2017, Trump finally got it right by blocking "non-immigrant visa" entries into the U.S.
The Post recalled a 2022 post on Truth Social in which Trump trashed the Supreme Court when they decided a Congressional committee could obtain his tax return.
“Why would anybody be surprised that the Supreme Court has ruled against me, they always do!” Trump wrote. “Shame on them!”
Yet, three of those justices are his own appointees.
“Trump is trying to shift the constitutional balance,” said Brennan Center for Justice President Michael Waldman. “In the past, the Supreme Court has pushed back. This Supreme Court should, but it’s an open question of whether it will.”
Case Western Reserve Professor Jonathan H. Adler noted that in recent years, the Court has limited federal agencies. That could happen to Trump, too, with justices stepping in to declare his laws unconstitutional.
"The court has made clear it’s going to enforce certain types of constraints on federal power,” Adler said. “That could certainly constrain the ability of the Trump administration to advance policies by executive fiat, just as it constrained the Biden administration.”
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The problem, however, is whether Trump will follow the Court's decision. Failure to do so would mean a constitutional crisis.
The Post report recalled a 2022 comment from incoming Vice President J.D. Vance (R-OH), who paraphrased former President Andrew Jackson.
“And when the courts stop you, stand before the country, and say, ‘The chief justice has made his ruling. Now let him enforce it,’” said Vance.
“In the abstract I don’t know what that means,” Adler said.
