Wertheimer Political Report, October 23, 2025

During his Senate confirmation hearing in 2005, Chief Justice John Roberts committed “to protect the independence and integrity of the Supreme Court,” and “to ensure that it upholds the rule of law.”

Twenty years later, he has not lived up to his promises.

Roberts is smart and skilled. He must know that Trump is an aberrational President. After all, Trump is taking the steps that autocrats all over the world take. Roberts must know that Trump is grossly abusing the powers of his office, including by instructing the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate, prosecute and jail his political opponents.

However, to date, Roberts has refused to engage with this, instead he sits passively on the sidelines. He and the five other Justices in the majority – all appointed by Republican presidents – have refused to take account of what is plainly before their eyes – Trump is stretching his power far beyond the Constitution and federal laws.

Roberts has long believed in the “unitary” presidency. This is an interpretation of the Constitution that places in the president direct, total control over the entire executive branch: every agency, every employee, every function.

But President Trump has an even more expansive view of his authority.  He wants a “unitary” Constitution.

Trump wants to control not just the entire executive branch, but also, in practical terms, the legislative and judicial branches of our Constitutional system. While the unitary presidency is a fundamental departure from our nation’s norms, Trump’s approach of creating a unitary constitution represents an autocracy or dictatorship. Trump is well along to achieving this for his first ten months in office.

The Republican-controlled Congress salutes and says, “Yes sir,” every time Trump wants something. Roberts and his Republican-appointed majority on the Court appear happy to shut their eyes, minds, and souls to Trump’s power grabs and authoritarian ways.

Lower court federal judges, however, appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents, including Trump, have not gone along. They repeatedly have made initial findings that Trump and his administration are violating laws and ignoring Constitutional limits. They have been issuing injunctions and temporary restraining orders while their cases continue.

But almost every time the Trump administration gets these cases to the Supreme Court, on an expedited basis, the administration wins, and lower court judges and the American people lose.

These cases are reaching the Supreme Court through the use of the “Emergency Docket” also known as the “Shadow Docket.” This is a process that allows parties to apply for fast-track appeals to the Supreme Court. The Court has been accepting the administration’s requests regardless of whether “emergencies” exist.

As of October 2, according to Reuters, the Trump administration had won, fully or partially, 21 of 23 Emergency Docket cases.

In theory, the Supreme Court is simply lifting injunctions while the cases move forward. In practice, the Court is allowing the administration to proceed with its actions and to frequently accomplish much, if not all, of its often-dubious goals.  Meanwhile, the cases could take years before they are resolved on the merits.

Justice Elena Kagan, in her dissent in Trump v. Slaughter, captured what the administration and Roberts majority is doing with their use of the Emergency Docket. According to Kagan, “Our emergency docket should never be used, as it has been this year, to permit what our own precedent bars. Still more, it should not be used, as it also has been, to transfer government authority from Congress to the President, and thus to reshape the Nation’s separation of powers.”

There are at least five profoundly important cases that the Supreme Court may have to resolve in its current term.

They involve issues of enormous importance, including whether Trump’s tariffs are an illegal usurpation of congressional power, whether the Impoundment Control Act protecting the congressional power of the purse is unconstitutional, whether it is illegal for Trump to federalize and deploy National Guard soldiers to roam the streets of blue cities, whether Trump’s attack on birthright citizenship is unconstitutional and whether the landmark Voting Rights Act is completely dismantled after 60 years of serving American voters.

When we know how the Roberts Supreme Court majority deals with these profound issues, we will know just how complicit they are with this president/wannabe king. We will see whether the Roberts majority retains any of the independence granted to them by the Constitution or have indeed fully capitulated to Trump and turned the judicial branch over to his practical control.

TRUMPWATCH 2.0

Trump misled the country about his White House ballroom: “It won’t interfere with the current building. It won’t be. It’ll be near it but not touching it and pays total respect to the existing building, which I’m the biggest fan of. It’s my favorite. It’s my favorite place.”

The White House Wrecking Ball
“President Trump’s demolition of the East Wing has struck a nerve in Washington and beyond.” – New York Times

White House releases donor list for Trump ballroom amid East Wing demolition
“Amazon, Apple, Google and other major companies are among those donating to help cover the cost of President Trump’s massive new ballroom at the White House.” – The Hill

Trump Pardons Convicted Binance Founder
“Pardon follows months of efforts by Changpeng Zhao to boost Trump crypto company.” – Wall Street Journal

“He lost us”: Generals, senior officers say trust in Hegseth has evaporated
A Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has lost the trust and respect of some top military commanders, with his public “grandstanding” widely seen as unprofessional and the personnel moves made by the former cable TV host leading to an unprecedented and dangerous exodus of talent from the Pentagon, said current senior military officers and current and former Defense Department officials.” – Washington Times

Pardoned Jan. 6 rioter accused of threatening US Democratic leader Jeffries
” A Jan. 6 rioter pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump has been charged with threatening to kill House of Representatives Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, according to a court document.” – Reuters

Supreme Court Shadow Docket Tracker — Challenges to Trump Administration Actions
“The Trump administration has prevailed in the vast majority of its requests for emergency action, as the data below shows. These rulings have allowed administration policies to move forward after lower courts had found that the administration’s actions were likely illegal.”
– Brennan Center for Justice

A 200-Year-Old Precedent Holds the Key to Trump’s Troop Deployment
“The administration says the ruling, stemming from the seizure of an old mare, forbids judges from second-guessing his use of the National Guard.” – New York Times

Appeals court judges — including a Trump appointee — voice doubt over Trump’s bid to deport Mahmoud Khalil
“A panel of federal appeals court judges appeared deeply skeptical Tuesday of the Trump administration’s effort to detain and deport pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil using an obscure provision of immigration law.” – Politico

Ethics Watchdog Group Seeks Investigation Into Border Czar and Contracts Following ProPublica Report
“The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center has called on the Homeland Security inspector general to investigate potential conflicts of interest and ethics violations by border czar Tom Homan and his senior adviser Mark Hall.” – ProPublica

MEANWHILE, ON CAPITOL HILL

Senior Republican lawmakers predicted Wednesday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s new policy restricting communication between Pentagon personnel and Congress will crash and burn. – NBC News

Adelita Grijalva files lawsuit to be sworn in as member of Congress. She contends House speaker ‘has unlawfully interfered’ with her right to take office and asks for someone else to administer oath – Roll Call

Senate GOP chatter rises on filibuster reform to end shutdown – The Hill

Republican moderates press leadership on health credit extension. Millions of Americans in red states rely on subsidies to keep insurance costs down. – Roll Call

VOTER SUPPRESSION, MONEY, & OTHER ELECTION THREATS

Democratic Donors Sit on Sidelines as Party Schism Persists. Republican National Committee had $86 million in cash reserves at start of October, compared with $12 million for its Democratic counterpart – Wall Street Journal

Indiana Republicans don’t have votes to back Trump’s redistricting, Senate leader spox says – Politico

The new map, which was approved by the Senate earlier this week, likely makes incumbent Rep. Don Davis’s (D-N.C.) reelection bid more difficult going into the midterms. Davis represents the state’s 1st Congressional District.  – The Hill

House Democrats start to close the fundraising gap – Politico