From battles over racial diversity in college admissions and religious freedom when same-sex couples serve to President Joe Biden’s plan to eliminate student loan debt, the U.S. Supreme Court finished one of the most significant terms this week.
In each case, a majority of justices issued rulings that exhilarated conservatives and angered liberals who again called for action to combat the high court’s rightward tilt.
Chief Justice John Roberts ended the term with a plea for respect for the judiciary, which has come under scrutiny for its decisions inside, but also questions of ethics orbiting certain judges outside the courtroom.
“It has become a disturbing feature of some recent opinions to criticize decisions with which they disagree as going beyond the judiciary’s proper role,” he wrote.
“Let us not confuse this clearly sincere disagreement with disdain. It is important that the public is not misled either. Any such misperception would be damaging to this institution and our country.”
Anxiety about the Supreme Court reflects how much Americans feel about many American institutions ahead of the July 4th holiday.
Voters are unenthusiastic about the 2024 presidential front-runners, and when it comes to the health of American democracy, a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll shows a large majority think it is irreparably damaged.
Those sentiments extend to frustration over the rising costs of groceries, gas and other bills with 52 percent of Americans saying the country is too expensive to live in, the poll found.
On the other side of the globe, an armed rebellion in Russia drew international attention to Vladimir Putin, who saw his power threatened on the world stage amid his country’s war against Ukraine.
The audacious raid by mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has raised serious questions from the international community, including Biden, who said events in Russia have cemented Putin’s reputation as a global “prison”.
Supreme decisions on race, gay rights and student debt relief
The Supreme Court ended its term with a trio of blockbuster cases that struck a national nerve on two culture war issues and one of Biden’s biggest promises.
He started by eliminating affirmative action policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, fighting a decades-old policy that sought to diversify the campuses.
Similarly, the court sided with a Colorado web designer who refused to create websites for same-sex weddings because of her religious beliefs, which liberals saw as the latest backlash against LGBTQ Americans.
But without a doubt the most important decision was the ending.
The justices struck down the president’s massive student loan debt forgiveness plan that would have forgiven up to $20,000 for some borrowers, saying Biden must take the idea to Congress.
Sen. Tim Scott, RS.C., who is seeking the Republican nomination for president, praised the ruling for blocking what he called an “illegal student loan scheme.” He described it as a victory for common sense.
“You take out a loan, you pay it back,” Scott said. “This decision frees taxpayers from taking on debts they never underwrote.”
But the president vowed to push ahead, announcing Friday that his administration will work to forgive student loan debt through the Higher Education Act of 1965.
“This new path is legally sound,” Biden said. “It’s going to take longer.”
Grumpy Americans before the 4th of July
The United States will blow out 247 birthday candles this year, but many Americans are unhappy on several fronts, including major concerns about the health of democracy.
A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll shows that 7 in 10 Americans agree with the statement that American democracy is “at risk.” But the good news is that more states this year enacted legislation to expand voting rights and protect poll workers after the January 6, 2021, attacks.
Things aren’t much better when we ask Americans about the economy, as the pain in people’s pockets is felt across the board as prices for food, housing, assistance healthcare and transport. higher than his salary.
Anxiety about gun violence is also worrying an overwhelming number of Americans, who say crime is “out of control” in the United States.
Putin’s war at home
The armed rebellion in Russia, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner mercenary group, was an astonishing international event.
In a five-minute televised speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the group’s leaders “traitors” and “enemies of Russia,” while extolling how Russian patriotism was the reason for the swift end of the coup attempt.
Prigozhin, who said his departure was a demonstration rather than a coup, ended the attack after Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko struck a deal. Under the deal, Prigozhin would go to Belarus and neither he nor his troops would face treason or other charges.
But many see this as a blow to Putin’s power and legitimacy as he continues to wage war with Ukraine.
“He’s losing the war at home,” Biden, speaking of Putin, told reporters outside the White House this week. “And it’s become a bit of a pariah around the world. And it’s not just NATO. It’s not just the European Union.”
Trump warns supporters more indictments are coming
Former President Donald Trump kept it real with supporters at a New Hampshire event about his legal troubles after being indicted twice during the 2024 presidential campaign.
“Others might come,” he said.
If you’re keeping track, the GOP front-runner is already facing lawsuits over hush money allegations in New York state court and federal charges alleging he mishandled national security documents in Florida.
New audio recordings emerged this week of Trump discussing classified information he had no right to have.
But remember that Trump is also under investigation in Atlanta over allegations that he pressured state officials to overturn his 2020 election. Don’t forget the ongoing investigation in Washington, DC, into efforts to block the Congress to certify Biden’s election to the Electoral College.
Faced with these serious legal problems, Trump joked to the New Hampshire crowd that his “numbers are going to keep going up” among the Republican base.
Ohio Republicans convicted in major political corruption case
As political corruption cases go, one of the biggest ended in Ohio this week, as former Speaker of the House Larry Householder received a 20-year prison sentence for orchestrating an illegal bribery scheme almost 60 million dollars.
But it wasn’t just Householder, once one of the Buckeye State’s most powerful political figures, who was sent to the slammer. Former Ohio GOP Chairman Matt Borges was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in helping the landlord win control of the Ohio House of Representatives in 2018.
“Bottom line: You were a power-hungry thug who thought he was above everyone else,” U.S. District Court Judge Timothy S. Black said during the sentencing.
