The Supreme Court Nears The End Of Its Term With Momentous Cases About Trump's Power To Be Decided

Supreme Court Set to Rule on Remaining Cases Involving Presidential Authority and Other Issues

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is concluding a term that has included multiple cases concerning President Donald Trump’s assertions of presidential authority. Among the eight cases still pending as of the final week are challenges to Trump’s efforts to restrict birthright citizenship, to remove heads of independent agencies without stated cause, and to dismiss a sitting Federal Reserve governor.

The court is also considering challenges to state laws in West Virginia and Idaho that bar transgender girls and women from participating in female public school and college sports teams. Two election cases remain on the docket, one addressing state rules that permit mailed ballots to be received after Election Day if postmarked by that date, and another concerning limits on political party expenditures supporting congressional and presidential candidates.

A separate dispute involves the use of geofence warrants, which obtain location data from cellphones to identify individuals near crime scenes. Some legal observers have questioned whether the practice complies with Fourth Amendment standards.

In prior rulings this term, the court’s conservative majority has upheld several administration actions on immigration enforcement. Last week the justices permitted the termination of temporary protected status for certain foreign nationals whose home countries experienced war or natural disasters. Another pending decision could affect eligibility standards for asylum claims based on persecution.

During April arguments, members of the court expressed reservations about an executive order that would deny citizenship to children born in the United States to parents present unlawfully or on temporary visas, a departure from prior interpretations of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause.

The court previously rejected Trump’s claim that an emergency powers statute authorized unilateral imposition of broad tariffs. That February ruling prompted public criticism from the president directed at two of his appointees, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett.

The longest-pending case, argued in December, concerns the president’s authority to remove members of independent agencies. The justices have indicated they may limit or overturn a 1935 precedent requiring cause for such removals. While the case remains undecided, the court has allowed several firings to proceed despite lower-court findings that the actions violated existing law.

In contrast, the court appeared reluctant to permit the immediate removal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who faces allegations of mortgage fraud that she has denied. No president has removed a Federal Reserve governor in the agency’s 112-year history.

By longstanding practice, the court completes its term before July 4. Its next scheduled public session is the first Monday in October.