As the Supreme Court closes out its term, it is poised to decide eight major cases this week, including disputes over Trump’s claims of sweeping presidential authority—from birthright citizenship and independent agency firings to removing a Federal Reserve gov
By the end of a term that has tested the boundaries of presidential power, the Supreme Court is now preparing to make the final push—starting Monday—on disputes that could reshape how far President Donald Trump can go with immigration, federal agencies, and even control of key institutions.
The justices are expected to decide eight remaining cases this week. Among them are Trump’s efforts to restrict birthright citizenship. his push to fire the heads of most independent agencies at will. and his attempt to remove a sitting Federal Reserve governor. The term also holds cases from West Virginia and Idaho that ask whether to uphold laws in roughly half the states that prohibit transgender girls and women from playing on their public school and college sports.
Election law is also on the docket. Two remaining cases concern state laws that allow a grace period for the receipt of mailed ballots, provided they are sent by Election Day, and limits on political party spending in support of candidates for Congress and president.
Another case is tied to a modern policing tool: a dispute over geofence warrants that collect the location history of cellphone users to find people near crime scenes. Critics say the practice operates like a fishing expedition that violates civil liberties.
Trump’s appointments have arrived in a court that has so far been mostly receptive to his immigration crackdown. Last week, the justices allowed the administration to end temporary legal protections for people who came to the U.S. because of war or natural disaster in their homeland. Another ruling could make it harder for people fleeing persecution to seek asylum in the United States.
During arguments in April, the justices signaled skepticism about Trump’s executive order that would overturn long-settled understanding and deny citizenship to children born to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily.
The court has also already rejected Trump’s assertion of unilateral power to impose wide-ranging tariffs under an emergency powers law. That decision in February triggered an unusually harsh and personal denunciation from Trump. targeting two of his court appointees—Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett—who voted against him.
The most enduring fight is about removal power. and it is close to a decision that could land like a correction to a decades-old rule. The extent of Trump’s power to fire independent agency members is the oldest undecided case, argued in December. The justices seem likely to overturn. or drastically narrow. a 91-year-old decision that required a president to show cause—such as neglect of duty—before removing Senate-confirmed officials from their jobs.
The outcome appears to be in little doubt. Conservatives have allowed the firings to take effect while the case has played out, even after lower-court judges found the firings illegal.
The court seemed less willing to endorse Trump’s bid to immediately fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud. Cook denies the allegations. and the stakes carry additional constitutional weight because no president has ever fired a Fed governor in the agency’s 112-year history.
The Supreme Court, by tradition, finishes its work before July 4. After this week’s decisions, its next public meeting is the first Monday in October.
The sequence of these cases—immigration and citizenship disputes. limits on executive power over agencies and the Federal Reserve. election rules. and Fourth Amendment challenges tied to geofence warrants—makes the term’s final week feel less like a schedule and more like a finish line. The justices are deciding not only legal doctrine, but the practical reach of presidential action across the country.
Supreme Court Donald Trump presidential power birthright citizenship independent agencies Federal Reserve Lisa Cook geofence warrants transgender sports Election Day ballots political party spending asylum