The Supreme Court's conservative supermajority is facing harsh criticism for enabling Donald Trump's sweeping use of executive power, with one prominent legal expert warning the justices are aiding what he calls a "constitutional coup."
Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice, issued the warning in a July analysis following the Court's handling of McMahon v. New York, a case that effectively allowed Trump to fire all employees of the Department of Education and sidestep congressional authority. The decision was made through the Court's controversial "shadow docket," a process used to issue major rulings without full opinions or clear authorship.
Waldman argues that the justices are now repeatedly using the shadow docket to greenlight Trump's most aggressive power grabs, according to Raw Story. Recent rulings, he said, have let the administration oust leaders of independent federal agencies, deport immigrants to countries where they've never lived, and reinstate the Pentagon's ban on transgender service members. All without public deliberation or legal transparency.
The result, critics say, is a pattern of behind-the-scenes decisions that undermine decades of legal precedent and weaken the constitutional separation of powers. In Waldman's words, the Court is helping Trump "hand power to a lawless executive" while leaving no formal trail of accountability.
Whether Congress or future courts will challenge these precedents remains uncertain. But as Waldman notes, the damage may already be done, even if no one signed their name to it.
Originally published on Latin Times
