Thread by @DougKass

The 2020 @realdonaldtrump "No Apologies" Tour continues:
The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the Trump administration’s reasons for ending the DACA program were “arbitrary and capricious.” Justice Roberts sent the dispute back to the Department of Homeland Security for a

third attempt to articulate reasons that are not arbitrary and capricious. The DACA Program—Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals—protects people brought to the U.S. as minors by parents who did not comply with U.S. immigration laws. As a practical matter, the decision is a

lifesaver for “Dreamers,” who have been spared immediate deportation. See NYTimes, “‘I Feel Like I Can Breathe’: ‘Dreamers’ Get a Reprieve on DACA.” But Dreamers remain in limbo, subject to future deportation attempts until Congress passes a law that guarantees them residency

and a path to citizenship.
Justice Roberts’ opinion is plainly correct—the administration failed to exercise any discretion in ending DACA. What is disappointing and remarkable is that four dissenting justices could believe that a federal agency acted reasonably by failing to

exercise any discretion in ending the program. Worse, Justice Kavanaugh believes that reasons fabricated after the fact by a new DHS Secretary could make up for the complete failure of the prior DHS Secretary to exercise discretion in the first instance.
The Supreme Court still

has important cases on its docket—including cases relating to unreasonable restrictions on access to abortions, the refusal of Trump to comply with lawful subpoenas, whether religious schools are exempt from employment discrimination laws, and whether Trump has the unbridled

authority to fire the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. See The Hill, “The 7 big Supreme Court cases to watch in 2020.” Expect rulings that uphold expansive presidential power and unfettered freedom to discriminate under the guise of religious liberty.

But expect the Court to narrowly interpret the right to abortion.
The Court has enabled a lawless Trump in ways that go beyond specific rulings. The Trump administration has made a practice of seeking “emergency relief” from the Court to stay rulings of lower Courts that

invalidate actions by Trump. During the combined tenures of Bush and Obama, the government sought such relief only eight times — and the Court granted only four applications. In three years under Trump, the Roberts Court has granted seventeen emergency stays. See NYTimes,

“How the Supreme Court Is Quietly Enabling Trump.” Most of the stays effectively ended the challenges to Trump’s illegal conduct.
Here’s my point: Despite two welcome decisions in the last week, do not breathe a sigh of relief. Do not believe that anything has changed on the

Supreme Court. Rather, recognize that Justice Roberts understands he has damaged the legitimacy of the Court to the point that its current configuration is threatened. Mitch McConnel shrank the size of the Court during President Obama’s last term, and enlarged it during Trump’s

term. He did so by the simple expedient of refusing to allow a vote on Obama’s nomination of Judge Merrick Garland—a dereliction of the Senate’s constitutional duty. Given the casual manner in which Republicans altered the Court’s size to achieve partisan advantage, we should

not hesitate to enlarge the Court when Democrats control the Senate, notwithstanding Justice Roberts’ tardy attempts to repair McConnell’s damage.
The Roberts Court decided to pick a side in domestic politics. So be it. Having done so, it must accept the fact that it can longer

claim that its size and composition should be above partisan politics. While this week has been good for the LGBTQ community and Dreamers, a couple of split decisions cannot undo the lasting damage inflicted by the Roberts Court. Let’s hope for more good news, but be prepared

for disappointing decisions in the coming weeks.
And, finally, as to both decisions, Trump has again chosen to stand against the will of the American people. Even 70% of Republicans agree that discrimination against LGBTQ people should be illegal, and 74% of Americans believe

that Dreamers should be granted legal status in the U.S. Against those numbers, Trump tweeted that the Court’s rulings this week were “shotgun blasts to the face” of Republicans. Trump also mused on Twitter, “Do you get the impression that the Supreme Court doesn’t like me?”

Trump could not be more clear: He supports the right to discriminate against gay and transgender people and wants to deport 800,000 thousand Americans brought here as minors. If he has the opportunity to appoint another Supreme Court justice, he may get his wish. Each of us has

a moral obligation to help defeat him in November. The dignity, equality, and safety of tens of millions of Americans depend on it. @jimcramer @tomkeene @cnbcfastmoney @SquawkCNBC @andrewrsorkin @ScottWapnerCNBC @EpsilonTheory @threadreaderapp unroll