Trump’s 'constitutional crime spree' will lead to major 'clash' with Chief Justice Roberts: author

Of the six GOP appointees who comprise the U.S. Supreme Court's right-wing 6-3 supermajority, Chief Justice John Roberts is President Donald Trump's least favorite. Trump isn't shy about attacking the conservative George W. Bush appointee, making it clear that he much prefers far-right Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

Author Jeff Shesol, in a New York Times op-ed published on February 23, predicts that some a major "clash" between Roberts and Trump in response to the president's executive orders — some of which are being temporarily blocked by lower federal court judges.

"The legal challenges to President Trump's constitutional crime spree are multiplying," Shesol argues. "One case, concerning the president's purge of government watchdogs, has already reached the Supreme Court. The justices could soon take up another, weighing whether the president can end birthright citizenship for the children of immigrants. As Chief Justice Roberts no doubt knows, these battles pose one of the most profound tests his institution has ever faced — a test of its authority and the idea of equal justice under the law."

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Shesol adds, "The chief will have to find his fortitude. For now, he appears to be steeling himself."

Trump, Shesol notes, is well-aware of how "unpopular" the U.S. Supreme Court is.

"A clash is coming, despite the Court's sympathy for some aspects of the Trump agenda," the author argues. "In recent years, with gathering force, Chief Justice Roberts and his conservative supermajority have been crippling federal agencies, dismantling environmental regulations, weakening voter protections, stripping away reproductive rights and undercutting racial diversity — advance work, all of it, for Project 2025."

Shesol continues, "The assault on the 'deep state' echoes the chief justice's own disdain for government 'functionaries' and his indulgent view of executive power…. . When you put a man above the law, as the Court did in last year's presidential immunity case, he's going to act like he's above the law. At some point, presumably, the justices will draw the line."

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Jeff Shesol's full op-ed for The New York Times is available at this link (subscription required).