Topline
Former President Donald Trump criticized his three Supreme Court appointees in a speech Friday for voting against him in high-profile cases, saying “they don’t help me much,” following a remarkable stretch of legal losses for the ex-president.
Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh attend the State of the Union address in the … [+]
Key Facts
Trump praised his three Supreme Court picks—Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett—as “outstanding people” and “great scholars,” adding: “Except for me, they’ve done a very good job.”
The former president said he was especially irked when the court let a Democratic-controlled House committee access his tax returns last year, telling a crowd of supporters at an NRA convention in Indianapolis: “I thought that wasn’t supposed to happen.”
The Supreme Court also repeatedly rejected efforts from Republicans to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election based on Trump’s false claims of widespread fraud, dismissed his attempt to keep the House January 6 committee from accessing White House records and shot down his bid to limit what documents prosecutors could access in the Mar-A-Lago classified records case, among other legal blows it delivered to Trump.
Crucial Quote
“They vote against me too much. One of those little things in life, right?” Trump said.
Key Background
Despite only serving a single term, Trump had one of the biggest impacts on the federal judiciary of any president in recent history, especially when it came to shaping the nation’s highest court. Trump’s three appointments were the most of any president since Ronald Reagan, with his selection of all solidly conservative justices pushing the court strongly toward the right. The now 6-3 conservative majority court has delivered wins for Republicans on some of the party’s most fervent causes, capped by overturning Roe v. Wade in June, even as it has ruled against Trump in his more personal grievances.
Contra
The Supreme Court on Friday delivered a reprieve for abortion rights activists, issuing a temporary hold on a lower court’s ruling that would have severely limited access to mifepristone, an abortion pill. The decision will keep the pill on the market—and maintain availability through the mail—through at least Wednesday.
Further Reading
Treasury Must Turn Over Trump’s Tax Records To Congress, Supreme Court Rules (Forbes)
Supreme Court Throws Out Final GOP 2020 Election Case (Forbes)
Roe V. Wade Overturned: The Ultimate Explainer On What It Means (Forbes)
Supreme Court Halts Abortion Pill Restrictions — For Now (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2023/04/14/trump-jabs-his-own-supreme-court-picks-they-dont-help-me-much/