In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court disparaged Trump’s claim that presidents can do whatever they want, by ordering the administration to disburse $2 billion in USAID grants in compliance with lower court rulings. Although the narrow ruling has been widely applauded as at least a temporary victory for the rule of law, the victory is overshadowed by ominous signaling in the dissent.
In response to a one-paragraph ruling, Justices Alito, Thomas, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch wrote lengthy and strident dissents. Of the four justices, at least two are ethically compromised by their refusals to recuse from cases involving their own billionaire benefactors. Justices Alito and Thomas have also faced credible impeachment demands following their partisan embrace of Trump’s MAGA ethos.
