The Supreme Court is delivering wins to Trump

The Supreme Court had a banner day on Friday, the last decision day of the high court’s term, involving the justices reining in judicial power and serving up a victory for parents in the ongoing culture wars.

The high court’s more controversial decisions were split along ideological lines. Liberal justices sometimes dissented with bitter rebukes, while the Trump administration celebrated what it viewed as landmark wins.

In the most high-profile case of the day, the Supreme Court ended the practice of judges issuing sweeping injunctions that cover the whole country and not just parties involved in a case.

The injunctions, often known as “nationwide injunctions,” have been a source of frustration for President Donald Trump as judges side with plaintiffs and block key parts of the president’s agenda.

The case arose from several judges issuing injunctions that blocked Trump from carrying out his birthright citizenship plan. Rather than ask the Supreme Court to weigh in on the merits of the plan, which has been uniformly rejected in courts, Trump asked the high court to put a stop to the injunction practice.

The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision left open the possibility that judges and plaintiffs could use other avenues, such as class action lawsuits, to seek broad relief now that the high court has curtailed nationwide injunctions.

The Supreme Court decided 6-3 in Mahmoud v. Taylor that parents can opt their children out of a Maryland public school system’s lessons when they contain themes about homosexuality and transgenderism if they feel the content conflicts with their religious beliefs.

Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, said the government “burdens the religious exercise of parents when it requires them to submit their children to instruction that poses ‘a very real threat of undermining’ the religious beliefs and practices that the parents wish to instill.”

These are two major wins for the Trump administration. Donald Trump will now be able to pursue policy goals without being as easily stifled by district judges in liberal cities. Mr Trump was also given a win on the LGBT culture war debate, which seems to be turning in the political right’s favor.

This isn’t to say that the Trump administration will perpetually receive favorable outcomes from the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, both appointed by Republicans (Barrett was appointed by Trump) have sometimes sided with the court’s liberal justices on certain rulings.

And getting wins from the Supreme Court does not mean that the President won’t receive pushback on many of his policies. It just means that he has a much better chance of getting what he wants through.

Whichever way you slice it, this has been a good week for the Trump administration.