Harry Litman - The Court Is Still Dangerous to Democracy
The Supreme Court’s decision last Thursday in Trump v. Wilcox is a sobering reminder that we can't depend on the courts—and the High Court in particular—to get us entirely out of this mess.
The decision significantly augmented Trump’s power by effectively overruling a key precedent that authorizes Congress to specify that the heads of certain agencies can be fired only for good cause—not mere caprice or, in Trump's case, to replace professional incumbents with loyal lackeys.
If that sounds like a technical requirement, it isn't. It’s perhaps the core restraint against Trump’s mad spree—unparalleled in at least the last 200 years—of replacing good government principles with raw political control, in the process laying the potential groundwork for an authoritarian takeover of the entire government apparatus.
Just as troubling, the Court made this sweeping move through the shadow docket—without full briefing or oral argument. It issued a hastily published, two-page unsigned opinion with scant reasoning.
https://harrylitman.substack.com/p/the-court-is-still-dangerous-to-democracy
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