Bad Regs & Trump’s Supreme Dare

Pres Trump has “flooded” the US Sup Ct with appeals to “push through his agenda” despite those involving risky calls that might go against it. The latest being a “triple dog dare” on speeding up the lengthy regulation review process. Bout time Justices earned their pay?

Let’s not mention the Supremes’ $300K annual salary, nor their untold income from speaking engagements & assorted permissible moonlighting. But, one has to snicker a bit at the WSJ’s recent series of editorials pointing out how many tough decisions No. 47 is making the Supreme Court make. TOUGH. That’s their job (to make the tough calls) and, it’s hard to sympathize with these very powerful jurists when I’ve seen them incessantly dodge so many clarifying constitutional rulings that have been so very badly needed. Impending case in point was pointed out most recently by Kim Strassel, in which she asks whether the justices will be “comfortable” with the president’s “wholesale” regulatory changes: “Largely unnoticed amid [the] tariff imbroglio, Pres. Trump dropped another huge challenge on the Supreme Court’s steps. [He] is hyper embracing recent high-court doctrine & daring the court to match his enthusiasm. It’s a nervy gamble.”

As it happens, Trump has ordered all his departments to review every regulation on the books “with an eye to identifying any that are unconstitutional, conflict with Supreme Court rulings, or impose costs on private parties that aren’t outweighed by public benefits.” Instead of going through the APA’s 60-day review & public comment provisions, Trump wants such offensive if not illegal regulations “nuked” immediately. Well, THAT’s the rub. Yet, why not? Is it about time the Supremes doubled down on many of their own past decisions & upheld No. 47’s dare?

Davd Soul