Hurley’s NBC News piece argues the Supreme Court largely avoided a head-on break with Trump in 2025, while setting up major 2026 rulings on birthright citizenship, tariffs, and a Federal Reserve governance fight. The through-line is strategic timing: the Court hands presidents their biggest defeats after some post-election power drains away.
“The court’s 6-3 conservative majority mostly avoided direct confrontations with Trump in 2025 while handing him a series of wins, but it pushed rulings on a series of contentious White House proposals into this year.”
Lawrence Hurley, NBC News, 03-Jan-2026.
“The court is not confronting the president head-on until spring this year.”
Richard Pildes, quoted in Lawrence Hurley, NBC News, 03-Jan-2026.
“ [T]hey are on thicker ice if they are ruling against a president if they know he’s unpopular.”
Barbara Perry, quoted in Lawrence Hurley, NBC News, 03-Jan-2026.
🏛️⚖️⏳Welcome to the Supreme Court’s “delay-and-decide” era: 2025 gave Trump procedural runway, while the 🧨📜 real collisions (birthright citizenship, tariffs, Fed independence) got parked in 2026, when saying “no” costs less. 🧊 #SCOTUS #EmergencyDocket #SeparationOfPowers #FederalReserve