{"id":16826,"date":"2026-07-25T13:54:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T08:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=16826"},"modified":"2026-07-25T13:54:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T08:54:30","slug":"liberal-justice-elena-kagan-says-the-supreme-court-is-not-a-rubber-stamp-for-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=16826","title":{"rendered":"Liberal Justice Elena Kagan says the Supreme Court is not a rubber stamp for Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \"><span class=\"oyrPY qlwaB AGxeB  \">BELLEVUE, Wash. &#8212; <\/span>The <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/us-supreme-court\">U.S. Supreme Court<\/a> may be deeply conservative, but it is not simply a rubber stamp for President Donald Trump, Justice Elena Kagan said Thursday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Kagan, one of the court&#8217;s three liberal justices, told an audience of lawyers and judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit in Bellevue, Washington, that at significant times, on some big issues, &#8220;the court has checked the executive branch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The court has sided with the Trump administration in the vast majority of cases to come before it so far, including largely <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/immigration-supreme-court-haiti-syria-tps-1bbbf8115f984a0d53336656924e989d\">upholding his immigration crackdown<\/a> and expanding Trump&#8217;s authority <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/supreme-court-executive-power-trump-firing-cook-7b7676e5a066f8df41077a0920b9f334\">over federal regulatory agencies<\/a>. But Kagan pointed to key rulings where the president did not get what he sought, such as decisions <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/supreme-court-tariffs-trump-0485fcda30a7310501123e4931dba3f9\">rejecting Trump&#8217;s sweeping tariffs<\/a> and his efforts to <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/supreme-court-birthright-citizenship-trump-immigration-c73cf0c70bb550ebf0a55fafddbd935c\">strip birthright citizenship<\/a> from the children of people who are in the U.S. illegally. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cIs this court very conservative? Does it do a bunch of things that are out of the playbook of the conservative legal movement that I think are deeply wrong? You know, yes,\u201d Kagan said. \u201cBut is this court the kind of puppet for the current administration? I think definitely not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Polling has found public trust in the Supreme Court at historic lows in recent years, and a number of critics of the current court have suggested political motivations on the part of its justices. Trump has personally assailed justices who rule against him <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/supreme-court-trump-tariffs-gorsuch-barrett-kavanaugh-0b00e69f6230f4b1c90d49a4fe97c6ce\">in stark terms<\/a>. One liberal justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/supreme-court-voting-rights-justice-jackson-d9971fd19f7a63c841e7890b89e104f6\">said in May<\/a> after the court <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/supreme-court-voting-rights-congressional-redistricting-louisiana-aa5d7dbde7c13654f341d152c2ad5229\">struck down a majority-Black district<\/a> in Louisiana and weakened the Voting Rights Act that the institution risked being seen as political.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Chief Justice John Roberts, who was among those joining the court&#8217;s liberal justices on some key cases such as birthright citizenship and tariffs, has <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/supreme-court-chief-justice-8933cfe269c90746e200f2588801dfae\">fought back<\/a> against the perception that the justices are \u201cpolitical actors,\u201d calling it a misunderstanding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Kagan, often seen as a bridge-builder, echoed that approach in her comments Thursday, which followed her <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/supreme-court-congress-trump-threats-judges-a2ec46b8fa644ca66c331e19cd203b76\">testimony before Congress<\/a> alongside conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett last week on security threats and other issues facing the court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Kagan reiterated her support for appointing a committee of retired judges to enforce the Supreme Court&#8217;s first code of ethics, <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/supreme-court-ethics-code-conflicts-clarence-thomas-64d393ceb6f05402d762dca06f0f4187\">adopted in 2023<\/a> during a storm of criticism over undisclosed trips and gifts from wealthy benefactors to some justices. While the justices are taking the ethics code seriously, opinions differ on the court about how or whether it might be enforced, and no conclusions have been reached, she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Kagan also offered a view from the bench of a historic moment from the court&#8217;s past term, when Trump himself <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/supreme-court-immigration-trump-birthright-citizenship-e97c0c6f37fc68a70acc6075ff7d8e47\">took a front-row seat<\/a> for arguments over his birthright citizenship order. He was the first sitting president to attend oral arguments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">It was largely a \u201cnon-event\u201d for the justices, Kagan said. Trump took a seat off to the side, in an area relatively far from the bench typically reserved for members of Congress, and the court made no announcement of his presence. Many in the audience couldn&#8217;t see him, she noted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cHe was just like a person who came in and sat down and then had to listen to an argument,\u201d Kagan said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The president remained for about half of the lengthy arguments, leaving when the other side began making its case. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">\u201cYou really did kind of think, he probably has other things to do, you know?\u201d said Kagan, who served as solicitor general during the Obama administration. \u201cI was sort of thinking, I worked for a president, and when a president walks into the room, you get the whole \u2018Hail to the Chief&#8217; stuff. And there was like none of that. And so, I don\u2019t know, I think he probably won\u2019t come back.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BELLEVUE, Wash. &#8212; The U.S. Supreme Court may be deeply conservative, but it is not simply a rubber stamp for President Donald Trump, Justice Elena Kagan said Thursday. Kagan, one of the court&#8217;s three liberal justices, told an audience of lawyers and judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit in Bellevue, Washington, that at significant times,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/acb5cd35-6b04-4cb5-a742-6226ddb83312\/wirestory_52ed3c9cd7a5b999653b78b6859fe00e_16x9.jpg?w=1600","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}