Political and Judicial Updates & Judicial Review

Trump's Cabinet Meeting and Canadian Prime Minister

President Trump held a cabinet meeting in Warren, Michigan.
Trump announced the new Canadian prime minister would visit the US soon, possibly a premature announcement.
The Canadian prime minister needs to form a coalition government due to the Liberal Party not securing a full majority.
The Liberal Party performed better than expected due to a "Trump effect" related to tariff talks and suggestions that Canada could become the 51st state of the US. This nudged voters towards the Liberals.

Confirmation of Ambassadors

Congress is back in session and confirming ambassadors.
The US Ambassador to the People's Republic of China was confirmed.
David Perdue, former US senator from Georgia, is the new ambassador to China.
Kelly Loeffler (Small Business Administration) and Doug Collins (Secretary of Veterans Affairs) are Georgia political appointees.

Budget and Appropriations

Medicaid and Head Start are currently key programs at risk of budget cuts.
Congress is working to create a budget; President Trump is late in presenting his budget proposal.
The last time a budget was passed on time was in September 1994.
A draft of President Trump's budget suggests a significant cut to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) budget, from 9,200,000,000.0 to 5,200,000,000.0, which would greatly impact Georgia.

Debt Ceiling and Potential Default

The US is approaching the "x date," the point at which the country could default.
In June 2023, the US was four days away from defaulting.
Treasury Secretary suggested an "x date" announcement was coming soon, potentially June 15.
Default would affect veterans, agriculture subsidies, defense contractors, Social Security, and Medicare.
The speaker references the previous debt ceiling negotiation where Kevin McCarthy complimented President Biden's negotiation skills.

Tariffs and Senate Opposition

Vice President Vance cast a tie-breaking vote in the Senate regarding tariffs.
Mitch McConnell opposes tariffs, advocating for free markets and trade.
The Senate is pushing back against the president's use of emergency powers to impose tariff increases on trading partners.
President Trump's national security advisor may resign.

Political Landscape

Republicans are hesitant to cut Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security.
The possibility of a default is looming in six weeks.

Judicial Review

The US Supreme Court building opened in 1937 and bears the words of Thomas Jefferson, "equal justice under law."
The election of 1877 had a stalemated count in Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina.
A commission of Democratic, Republican leaders, and Supreme Court justices met to resolve the election in 1877.
The case of Marbury versus Madison (1803) was argued over two days, unlike modern Supreme Court cases.
William Marbury presented witnesses during the proceedings, which is not typical today.
The case of Marbury versus Madison comes out of the transition between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
The case struck down part of the Judiciary Act of 1789.
The Supreme Court didn't use this power again for over 50 years.
Judicial review is the power to strike down acts of Congress as unconstitutional.
To date, 93 laws have been struck down by the US Supreme Court since 1803.
James Madison and Thomas Jefferson won in Marbury versus Madison, yet were unhappy with the Court's power.
By the end of his second term, Thomas Jefferson questioned justices serving for life.
74% of Americans favor an age cap on Supreme Court justices.
One Jefferson supporter said the Constitution, not judges, ought to control the legislature.
The Supreme Court's power was not used again for over 50 years and currently has been used on 93 separate occasions.

Textbook Interpretation & Presidential Pushback

Textbook states the Supreme Court's power to review acts of Congress has not been seriously questioned since 1803, which is inaccurate.
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison did not like judicial review.
Republicans, including Abraham Lincoln, opposed the Supreme Court's 1857 Dred Scott decision.
Franklin Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden have all questioned judicial review.
The Republican party was founded upon criticizing the Supreme Court in 1857.
Irony: Thomas Jefferson’s words are inscribed over the Supreme Court entrance, despite him being a critic.
Abraham Lincoln called the Dred Scott decision "an abominable, atrocious, wicked decision."
Frederick Douglass criticized the Supreme Court for striking down the Civil Rights Act of 1875.

Franklin Roosevelt and the Supreme Court

In the 1930s the Supreme Court rejected many New Deal laws that were passed by Congress.
Supreme Court rejects the Income Tax Act of 1894.
In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt went to "war" with the Supreme Court.
Roosevelt criticized the "nine old men," spoke of hardening judicial arteries, and said the court was running the country like it was the "buggy and whip era."
Roosevelt proposed that if a justice stayed on the Supreme Court after age 70, the president should be able to appoint a new justice.
The Supreme Court ending up upholding Social Security, which was the victory that Roosevelt was hoping for.
The election results in 1936 saw Roosevelt win 90% of the vote.

Modern Examples of Presidential Dissatisfaction

Richard Nixon expressed unhappiness when the Supreme Court struck down part of the Voting Rights Act extension that he signed.
Barack Obama was unhappy with cases like Citizens United and Shelby County, Alabama versus Holder.
Joe Biden has been unhappy with decisions including student loan forgiveness and some COVID rulings.

Constitutional Convention & Presidential Vetoes

In August 1787, a proposal that the president and the supreme court together would cast a veto over acts of congress was defeated by eight to three.
The drafters of the constitution gave the president a use it or lose it window of 10 days to exercise the veto.
It requires two thirds in the House and two thirds in the Senate to override vetoes.
George Washington complained that he could only veto or sign a bill entirely without being able to pick parts that he wanted.

Lack of Court Constraints & Methods of Accountability

The supreme court has no time frame and no clear procedure on reversing a Supreme Court decision.
Five justices can render a verdict and nullify an act of congress.
The court can go through the bill and only strike down portions of it that they don't like.
Congress does not have this much power.

Examples of Supreme Court Decisions Struck Down

The McCain Feingold Act passed in 2002 was an attempt to limit special interests with money in politics.
In 2002 President Barack Obama said in his state of the union he did not believe special interest groups should be in charge of bankrolling American elections.
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was struck down.

Actions to Counter Supreme Court Decisions

To override a supreme court decision, Congress needs a two-thirds vote in the House, a two-thirds vote in the Senate, and three-fourths of the states have to amend the constitution.
Accountability: elections for presidents who nominate, and elections for the senate who confirm or defeat Supreme Court nominations play a part.
Impeachments have also been considered.
Elections, Confirmations, Amendments are the main actions left to counteract court decisions.
Two of Supreme Court's decisions have been reversed by constitutional amendments.
The 16th amendment reversed the income tax act of 1894 which the Supreme Court struck down.
In 1970 President Richard Nixon signed an extension of the Voting Rights Act lowering the voting age to 18, this was overturned by the 26th amendment.
Cases can also be reversed by the courts themselves.
Decisions are not set in stone and can be reversed.

Judicial Systems

There is no provision for reversing a judicial veto unlike the requirements to overturn a presidential decision.
The justices in Georgia do not have a required age retirement.
In Florida the age of retirement is 70, in Alabama is also 70, and in South Carolina is 72.
There are 30 states including three of our neighbors that require mandatory retirements.
Canada has a 75 age limit for their national judiciary.
Pew Research Center claims 74% of Americans favor a maximum age for Supreme Court justices.