Amid insurrection and impeachment, the Supreme Court‘s big news Thursday was a decision in a bankruptcy case. Wednesday brought arguments over the Federal Trade Commission’s …
Amid insurrection and impeachment, the Supreme Court‘s big news Thursday was a decision in a bankruptcy case. Wednesday brought arguments over the Federal Trade Commission’s ability to recapture ill-gotten gains. At this fraught moment in U.S. history, the court is doing its best to keep its head down, going about its regular business and putting off as many politically charged issues as it can, including whether President Donald Trump’s tax returns must be turned over to prosecutors in New York. Still, the justices have not been able to completely avoid controversy in recent days. On Tuesday, the court‘s conservative majority that includes three Trump appointees cleared the way for the administration to execute a woman for the first time in 67 years and also allowed the administration to reinstate a requirement that pregnant women wanting an abortion pick up a pill in person from a medical facility, despite the risks of contracting COVID-19. The court‘s work continues even though the coronavirus pandemic is preventing the justices from meeting in person, either for their private conferences or argument sessions. Chief Justice John Roberts has received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, but not every member of the court has, the court said. The building itself has been closed to the public since March because of the pandemic.
