Kagan: Supreme Court Not Trump's Puppet

Justice Elena Kagan stated on Thursday that the U.S. Supreme Court is not a puppet for the Trump administration, despite its conservative majority. Speaking to lawyers and judges in Bellevue, Washington, Kagan, one of the court's three liberal justices, asserted that the court has, at significant times and on some major issues, "checked the executive branch." She acknowledged that the court has sided with the Trump administration in a majority of cases, including rulings that largely upheld immigration policies and expanded presidential authority over federal agencies. However, Kagan highlighted specific instances where the president's requests were denied, such as decisions rejecting broad tariffs and attempts to revoke birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants.

Kagan conceded that the court is "very conservative" and "does a bunch of things that are out of the playbook of the conservative legal movement that I think are deeply wrong." Nevertheless, she firmly stated, "I think definitely not" when asked if the court functions as a puppet for the current administration. This defense comes amid historically low public trust in the Supreme Court, with critics suggesting political motivations among justices. President Trump has publicly criticized justices who rule against him.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson previously expressed concerns in May that the court risked being perceived as political after it struck down a majority-Black district in Louisiana and weakened the Voting Rights Act. Chief Justice John Roberts has also pushed back against the notion of justices acting as "political actors," attributing such perceptions to misunderstanding. Roberts was among the justices who joined the court's liberal members on key cases, including those concerning birthright citizenship and tariffs. Kagan's remarks on Thursday echoed this sentiment, positioning her as a bridge-builder within the institution.