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1 Mar, 6 tweets, 3 min read
Biggest news from today's Supreme Court orders: The court will hear a challenge to the federal government's denial of Supplemental Security Income—a benefit available in all 50 states—to residents of Puerto Rico. A big territorial rights case. supremecourt.gov/orders/courtor…
SCOTUS also took up a case I am not following, Babcock v. Saul, but here's the question presented. scotusblog.com/case-files/cas…
The Supreme Court once again took no action on Mississippi's 15-week abortion ban. It's really hard to read the tea leaves here. Maybe the court refused to hear the case and a justice (Thomas) is writing a dissent from denial of cert. Maybe they're just punting a decision.
More on the Puerto Rico case: The 1st Circuit struck down the exclusion of Puerto Rico residents from the Supplemental Security Income program on equal protection grounds. If SCOTUS affirms that decision, PR will get billions more in federal funding.
casetext.com/case/united-st…
There is not a circuit split on this question, which suggests that the Supreme Court took up the case to reverse the 1st Circuit (but hope springs eternal).
This is a good counterpoint—the possibility of a circuit split on the broader question of excluding territories from this program is quite limited, because only a few circuits have jurisdiction over territories.

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Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
2 Mar
The Supreme Court is hearing arguments in a case this morning that could effectively doom what remains of the Voting Rights Act. Listen here: c-span.org/video/?507934-…

Background here: slate.com/news-and-polit…
Justice Kagan: If a state cancels Sunday early voting, and Black people vote on Sunday ten times more than white voters, is that legal under the Voting Rights Act?

Michael Carvin, representing the RNC: Yes.
Justice Kagan: If a state allows only Election Day voting, and only opens the polls between 9-5, and voters of one race are ten times more likely to work a job that prevents them from voting during that time, is that legal under the Voting Rights Act?

RNC’s Carvin: Yes.
Read 4 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
25 Feb
During the RFRA battles in Arizona and Indiana, conservatives claimed RFRA would not legalize discrimination against LGBTQ people. Today, conservatives oppose language in the Equality Act clarifying that RFRA cannot be used to justify anti-LGBTQ discrimination. I am confused.
If RFRA does not legalize discrimination against LGBTQ people, then conservatives should not be bothered that the Equality Act forbids the use of RFRA to justify anti-LGBTQ discrimination. If RFRA does legalize discrimination against LGBTQ people, its proponents were lying.
Progressives opposed RFRA bills in Arizona and Indiana on the grounds that they would legalize anti-LGBTQ discrimination. Conservatives accused progressives of misrepresenting the bills. Now conservatives seem to have admitted that RFRA does, in fact, legalize discrimination.
Read 4 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
24 Feb
A lot of folks seem to think that Biden needs to fire some or all of the current USPS Board of Governors in order to oust DeJoy. Although I initially assumed that was the case, as well, I have learned that it is not true. Biden does not need to fire anyone to oust DeJoy. (1/x)
There are currently six members on the USPS Board of Governors, as well as three vacancies, for a total of nine seats.

There are four Republicans, all of whom back DeJoy, and two Democrats, Ron Bloom and Donald Lee Moak. But Bloom is serving a holdover term—he must be replaced.
Biden therefore has the power to appoint FOUR new members of the USPS Board of Governors: One to replace Ron Bloom, and three to fill the other vacancies. Once he does, there will be a 5–4 Democratic majority on the board. The board can fire DeJoy by majority vote. (2/x)
Read 9 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
23 Feb
Carrie Severino, president of a dark money group funded by a handful of anonymous billionaires, opposes Vanita Gupta's nomination because she is allegedly "deeply entrenched in the world of ... dark money." foxnews.com/opinion/biden-…
Carrie Severino leads one of the most infamous dark money groups in the country! The Judicial Crisis Network is a textbook example of a dark money group! It strenuously and unapologetically conceals the identities of its benefactors, including multi-million dollar donors!
How does the president of a lavishly funded dark money group propped up by anonymous billionaires make this argument with a straight face!
Read 4 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
22 Feb
A lot of big stuff in today's SCOTUS orders. supremecourt.gov/orders/courtor…

For starters, SCOTUS finally denies Trump's request to block Cy Vance's subpoena (without comment or dissent). Vance will finally get his hands on more Trump financial records.
SCOTUS dismisses the Pennsylvania election cases as moot, over the dissents of Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch. These cases challenged the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's three-day extension of the mail ballot deadline. supremecourt.gov/orders/courtor…
Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch endorse the radical proposition that SCOTUS has authority to overturn the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's interpretation of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

Thomas claims mail voting is inherently suspect, unreliable, and rife with fraud.
Read 8 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
19 Feb
.@SenSherrodBrown, new chair of the subcommittee that oversees Social Security, calls on Biden to fire Andrew Saul and David Black, whom Trump installed at the Social Security Administration to destroy the agency and hobble its union.

Background here: slate.com/news-and-polit…
In light of the Supreme Court's decision in Seila Law v. CFPB, there is no real doubt that Biden can fire Saul and Black. It's unclear why he is waiting since both officials continue to implement awful Trump policies that undermine Social Security, especially disability benefits.
Meanwhile, Mark Calabria—the Trump-appointed director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency—continues to dismantle the government’s conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, subverting the mission of the agency he leads. Biden hasn't fired him either. slate.com/news-and-polit…
Read 4 tweets

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