The Brian Lehrer Show The Supreme Court and Trump's Expanding Executive Power
Dec 10, 2025
Elie Mystal, a justice correspondent and bestselling author, dives deep into the implications of recent Supreme Court decisions. He discusses how the potential expansion of presidential power could reshape the Federal Trade Commission. Mystal argues for court expansion as a democratic safeguard and critiques the current conservative court's use of the shadow docket. He also highlights the historical significance of birthright citizenship and warns against eliminating it, while exploring issues of gerrymandering and civil rights erosion under recent rulings.
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Court Control Determines Policy Power
- If liberals don't control the Supreme Court, they effectively control nothing policy-wise.
- Elie Mystal argues expanding the Court is the constitutional remedy to an oppositional court majority.
Run On Court Expansion
- Expand the Supreme Court when you control the presidency and Congress.
- Mystal says Democrats should run explicitly on court expansion to reverse bad rulings.
Shadow Docket Is Reshaping Major Law
- The Court is using the shadow docket to issue major rulings without full briefing or explanation.
- Mystal calls many recent rulings effectively decided off the record through that process.
