The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns the U.S. Supreme Court and its decisions. The beginning of a new year marks the countdown to the end of June when the nation’s highest court starts handing down decisions for the cases they heard over the previous months. According to Fred Lucas, “several of the cases in 2026 … revolve around President Donald Trump in the near term but will have far-reaching consequences for future presidents. In his article published at The Daily Signal, Lucas shares “the biggest high court decisions to watch for in 2026.”
1. Deciding on Men in Women’s Sports
The
first major case to be argued in 2026 comes Jan. 13, when justices will hear
arguments in combined Idaho and West Virginia cases. The cases of Little v.
Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J. will affect 25 states with laws
preventing biological males from competing in women’s sports.
“These
are the cases in which states have banned biological males from competing in
women’s sports and that’s a very, very important decision,” Han von Spakovsky,
a former senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily
Signal. “It’s going to affect women and girls in K-12 sports in many
different states.”
The
arguments could also have federal implications since Trump signed an executive
order in February to withhold federal funds from states that allow biological
males to play in women’s sports….
2. Tariffs Mark First Test for Emergency Law
The
Supreme Court could decide early in 2026 on Trump’s executive action to impose
sweeping tariffs, part of his core economic and trade policy….
At
issue is whether the president exceeded his executive branch authority by
imposing tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act,
which is intended to address emergencies only. Normally, trade policy,
including tariffs, is enacted through legislation in Congress and signed by the
president.
This
is uncharted waters for the Supreme Court, which has never ruled on how far the
International Emergency Economic Powers Act could go, von Spakovsky said….
3. Reversing Birthright Citizenship?
In
early December, the high court agreed to hear arguments on Trump’s executive
order to end birthright citizenship. Under Trump’s order, agencies would not
recognize citizenship for U.S.-born children who do not have at least one
parent who is an American citizen.
Birthright
citizenship is the view that anyone born in the United States, even a child of
illegal immigrants, is automatically a U.S. citizen.
This
has the potential to overturn a Supreme Court precedent going back to 1898,
when the majority upheld birthright citizenship under the 14 Amendment, which
was enacted to grant citizenship to freed slaves after the Civil War….
The
point of contention in the case is the phrase, “subject to the jurisdiction
thereof,” which Solicitor General D. John Sauer has argued was misinterpreted
by the court’s late 19th-century ruling.
4. Scrapping Humphrey’s Executor
In
what could be a powerful blow against the deep state, a majority of justices
seems poised to reverse the 90-year-old precedent of Humphrey’s Executor.
This
specific case regards Trump’s ouster of Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca
Slaughter, but it will affect other federal boards and commissions with members
appointed by Republican and Democrat presidents. The members, in theory,
operate without political concerns. They serve for a set term until it expires,
regardless if a new president of a different party assumes office during that
term.
The
high court, in the 1935 precedent in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States,
ruled Congress could enact laws limiting the power of a president to fire
executive officials of an independent agency.
“We
are not big fans of executive power, but overturning Humphrey’s Executor will
make the president more accountable,” said Berry of the Cato Institute. “The
problem with so-called independent executive agencies is that the president can
avoid accountability. He can say, the agency did it. The president should be
checked by Congress and the courts, not by appointees of the prior president.
The framers never had that intent.”
5. Politics and the Federal Reserve
On
Jan. 26, justices will hear a case of Trump v. Cook. In an October
emergency docket ruling, the court ruled that Federal Reserve Board Governor
Lisa Cook could keep her job – for now – after Trump attempted to oust her.
The
question in the case is whether a president can fire a member of the Federal
Reserve Board of Governors or whether the organization created in 1913 is
independent.
It’s
not the same question as the [one] posed in the Humphrey’s Executor matter.
Although Kamanar, of the National Legal and Policy Center, anticipates Trump
will win the FTC case, he said the Federal Reserve could be viewed as an
entirely different institution.
“The
Federal Reserve board is different from the SEC, the FTC, or the FEC,” Kamanar
said, also referencing the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal
Election Commission. “The Federal Reserve is funded through the private banks,
not by Congress.”
Members
of the board are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, but
Trump’s ouster of Cook marked the first time a president removed a board
member.