Over and over, challengers have tried to block Trump’s agenda in court. And, over and over, the president has asked the Supreme Court for emergency permission to carry out his policies. Most of the time, the justices (along partisan lines) have sent a message: Go ahead — for the moment. We’ll weigh the legal questions later.
Later is now. The Supreme Court term that begins today could hold generational consequences. “It’s hard to imagine bigger tests of presidential power,” says one lawyer who appears frequently before the justices. While the court holds arguments for roughly 60 cases over the course of its term on a wide range of topics, the main action is about what the president can do.
The docket we know
The court has already agreed to hear several cases on presidential power.
Tariffs. In November, the justices will consider whether the administration can tax imports by invoking a 1970s-era emergency law. The International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, has typically been used to impose sanctions and embargoes against other nations. It does not mention the word “tariff.”
Independent agencies. In December, the court will examine whether Trump can fire a Democratic leader of the Federal Trade Commission. The case revisits a 90-year-old precedent that says Congress can protect independent regulators from being removed solely over policy disagreements.
The Fed. Can Trump fire Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor who he says committed mortgage fraud? The Fed is independent so that the central bank can make economic decisions apart from political pressures, but the president can fire its leaders for cause. Does he have cause? Cook has not been charged with a crime, and her lawyers say the allegations are flimsy.
The docket to come
Then there are cases the justices have not yet accepted — but will probably have to decide, eventually.
Birthright citizenship. The president said by executive order that people born in the United States are not automatically entitled to citizenship if their parents are not citizens. That would upend more than a hundred years of precedent and change what it means to be an American. After losing in the lower courts, the White House has already asked the justices to weigh in.
More Trump challenges. Other cases in the pipeline ask these questions:
Can the president override Congress’s spending decisions?
Can the president use an 18th-century wartime law to deport immigrants he accuses of belonging to a Venezuelan gang?
Other big cases
The blockbuster arguments won’t just be about the separation of powers. Here are some other consequential cases the justices will hear.
Conversion therapy. In 2019, Colorado banned therapists from counseling minors to change their sexuality or gender identity. A Christian therapist challenged the law, and the justices will hear arguments tomorrow. I wrote about the case here.
Trans athletes. State laws in Idaho and West Virginia that bar transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports teams are also coming before the court this term.
Redistricting. Can states take race into account when drawing congressional districts — grouping minority voters together to ensure fair representation for Black Americans? In a redo of a case last term from Louisiana, the justices are considering the broader question of whether to overturn a key section of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Voting by mail. Can a federal elected official sue to stop a state from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day? If successful, the lawsuit brought by a Republican congressman from Illinois could lead to other efforts to restrict voting by mail.
My colleague Abbie VanSickle and I explore the cases and what legal scholars make of them here.
THE LATEST NEWS
Government Shutdown
It’s the sixth day of shutdown. Yesterday, Trump repeated his threat of mass firings of federal workers.
Republicans have adopted a mostly passive stance while Democrats dig in for a fight, with both sides feeling they have the upper hand politically, Annie Karni writes.
Trump Administration
JB Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, said on CNN that federal agents were trying to create a “war zone” in Chicago “so they can send in even more troops.”
Federal prosecutors charged two Chicago residents, including one whom federal agents had shot, with using their cars to “assault, impede, and interfere with the work of federal agents.”
Middle East
Representatives from Israel, Hamas and the U.S. are in Egypt today for talks aimed at ending the war in Gaza.
Israel and Hamas have signaled a readiness to move forward on Trump’s cease-fire plan, but significant gaps remain.
Benjamin Netanyahu has taken personal credit for the plan, but it’s clear that Trump was calling the shots, Isabel Kershner writes.
Business
Three of Britain’s biggest brands have suffered cyberattacks this year, bringing pain to customers, workers, suppliers and government officials.
More than 500 Costco locations will soon sell the weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
Japan’s currency plummeted and its stock market rallied after the governing party unexpectedly chose a pro-stimulus conservative hard-liner, Sanae Takaichi, as leader.
France
France’s third prime minister in a year, Sébastien Lecornu, resigned in a surprise move, less than 24 hours after forming a cabinet.
Gisèle Pelicot returns to court today to face the appeal of one of the dozens of men convicted of raping her while she was drugged. Here’s what to know.
Other Big Stories
Three scientists shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries about the immune system.
Heavy snow trapped hundreds of people on Mount Everest.
Landslides and floods have killed at least 40 people in Nepal.
OPINIONS
Five families awaiting the return of hostages from Gaza speak about the rituals that nurture a connection with missing loved ones in a visual essay by Ofir Berman and Sarah Wildman.
The U.S. has already experienced national divisions and frustratingly infirm presidents. The last time didn’t end democracy — it led to the New Deal, John Fabian Witt writes.
Here are columns by David French on forgiveness and Margaret Renkl on saving a book festival.
MORNING READS
Less cowbell: Cows wear high-tech collars now.
Bounty: Treasure hunters recovered over $1 million worth of gold and silver coins from a 1715 Spanish shipwreck.
Stargazing: Two comets will grace the night sky this month. Read how to see them.
Review: Can fashion still be provocative? A ridiculous debut show has Vanessa Friedman wondering.
Fantastical: James Grashow, a sculptor and woodcut artist who made his name with outsize installations fashioned from corrugated cardboard, died at 83. His works included a sprawling — and intentionally impermanent — version of the Trevi Fountain in Rome.
SPORTS
N.F.L.: The remaining undefeated teams fell last night, as the Denver Broncos beat the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots took down the Buffalo Bills. Here’s what we learned from Week 5.
M.L.B.: The New York Yankees’ struggles continue, with a 13-7 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays that leaves them one more loss from elimination in the A.L.D.S. With a 3-2 win, the Seattle Mariners tied their series 1-1 with the Detroit Tigers.
W.N.B.A.: The Las Vegas Aces took a 2-0 series lead over the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA Finals last night, led by Jackie Young’s 32 points.
ARCHITECTURE
Three projects by the architect David Adjaye are scheduled to open this fall: the Princeton University Art Museum; the Museum of West African Art in Benin City, Nigeria; and the Studio Museum in Harlem.
But public admiration is unlikely this time around: The institutions appear to be keeping their distance from him, more than two years after he was accused of sexual misconduct, Alex Marshall writes, and it is unclear whether Adjaye will appear at any of the museums’ opening celebrations. Adjaye has denied the allegations against him.
More on culture
“The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” essentially an 89-minute commercial for Taylor Swift’s latest album, sold an estimated $33 million in tickets at cinemas in the U.S. and Canada this weekend.
Bad Bunny hosted the season premiere of “S.N.L.”
THE MORNING RECOMMENDS …
Make California rolls at home.
Try these built-in bra tops. (Even though straps are back, too.)
Give the coffee lover in your life an upgrade to their morning ritual.
GAMES
Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was genotype.
And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Sports Connections and Strands.
Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow.
Claire Moses contributed to this newsletter.
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