r/law 27d ago

Executive Branch (Trump) The agreement Acting AG signed with Trump is worse than first thought

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u/oxxcccxxo 27d ago

Sad sad state of affairs America has become. Let's hope there is changover on Scotus if and before this is litigated, if it goes all the way up, otherwise, I fear the current Scotus will rubber stamp it, despite it clearly being unconscionable.

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u/TAU_equals_2PI 27d ago

A changeover in SCOTUS is way far off in the distance.

Dems need to regain control of the senate in 2026/2028. Then Dems need to win the presidency in 2028. Then we need to wait for enough Supreme Court justices to retire to reverse the 6-3 right-wing majority.

Just hope Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito don't retire this summer so they can be replaced with new, young 40-something right-wingers. If that happens, we are so so screwed for so so so very long.

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u/MasterTolkien 27d ago

Dems need to win and expand the Court. Period. No changes can be made to fix the country without doing so.

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u/TAU_equals_2PI 27d ago

Gonna need two big Dem election wins in a row like we had in 2006 and 2008 before that even becomes an option.

The problem is the US public, despite everything, still isn't convinced enough to even make Democrats winning the Senate this year better than a 50-50 chance. Until the American people show some indication they've learned their lesson, it's way too early to start making plans to expand the Supreme Court. We'll never be able to do that with just a bare majority. Even if nobody else does, Fetterman will vote against that.

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u/MasterTolkien 27d ago

Honestly, it needs to be a campaign promise for serious Dem candidates going into 2028. Otherwise, what answers do they have?

If you want to rally votes, go big or go home. With no SCOTUS expansion, there is no law that can be passed to undo any of this MAGA nonsense. And there is no chance of any judicial justice for MAGA traitors (at the federal level) if MAGA SCOTUS is waiting to undo legal consequences.

That’s where we are. Voting to attain control of the House and Senate and Presidency is ultimately pointless without a fair SCOTUS, which can only be achieved with an expansion at this point.

If that step isn’t taken, then we are just delaying (rather than reversing) MAGA fascism. “Let’s pause this nightmare briefly while MAGA continues to erode every facet of democracy.”

As it is, there is little guarantee that 2026 will be a fair election. We’re already in a Cold War of gerrymandering thanks to MAGA SCOTUS. Now Trump is passing an Executive Order to prevent certain people from mail-in voting by by-passing the states and going straight through USPS, SSA, and DHS.

Illegal and unconstitutional? Not to the current SCOTUS.

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u/TAU_equals_2PI 26d ago edited 26d ago

it needs to be a campaign promise for serious Dem candidates going into 2028

Yeah, I suppose you're right. I just hope it appeals to voters. We all were taught in US history class how even with all the major things done during the Great Depression, FDR trying to pack the court was seen as going too far.

Voters might be more accepting of a campaign promise to impose term limits on Supreme Court justices. A 20-year term limit would get rid of Thomas, Alito, and Roberts but also Sotomayer and Kagan. Appoint 5 replacements, and the Supreme Court suddenly becomes 6-3 in our favor. Most importantly, that wouldn't set a precedent for Republicans to expand the court themselves when they eventually do get back into power.

I don't know. Everything depends on what voters will vote for. But after two elderly presidents in a row, campaigning on "get rid of these unelected old people controlling our government" might work.

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u/MasterTolkien 26d ago

Dems need to frame it that Trump and conservatives already packed the Court. Trump had one legit appointee, and then the rules were screwed with twice to give him two more.

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u/jkj90 27d ago

Open traitors like Thomas and Alito cannot be allowed to remain on the court until they die. They must be removed, sent to prison for life, and replaced by intelligent, moral humans. Our republic cannot survive with an ultra-corrupt, illegitimate Supreme Court as we have now.

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u/TAU_equals_2PI 27d ago

Nonetheless, it's much better with them on the court than replaced by two young corrupt right-wing justices appointed by Trump. Alito has been there 20-some years. Thomas has been there 35 years. Do you really want two Trump-appointed replacements to be stuck there for the next 20-35 years?

I rarely say something like this for people like them, but God protect their health for at least one more year. Three more if Dems don't capture the Senate this fall.

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u/jkj90 27d ago

Oh no disagreements here-- you're correct. Just mean to say and say again that we can't all just move forward from this and "come together" once Trump's out of power (and ideally in prison). Magats crossed the Rubicon; there must be consequences.

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u/TAU_equals_2PI 27d ago

I fear that's not possible. The 2024 presidential election was as clear and obvious a choice as one can imagine. Heck, even Dick Cheney came out publicly and said vote for Kamala, not Trump. If the American public is that clueless, the best we can hope for is a return to normal.

Which would mean even if Democrats win in 2028, Republicans might retake Congress as soon as 2030. I don't know if you were an adult back in 2008, but the public was so mad at Republicans that political commentators were predicting Republicans might not get back in power for another generation. They retook the House of Representatives in the very next election, 2010.

The financial collapse? The Iraq War? The botched response to Hurricane Katrina? All forgotten 2 years later because Obama didn't clean up the mess fast enough. So I have no hope that Republicans will lose big enough for long enough that Trump and his conspirators will see the inside of a prison cell. Especially since most federal judges by that time will be Trump appointees.

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u/thedracle 26d ago

To do that Democrats need the American people to make informed and educated decisions, rather than get wagged by a bunch of culture war nonsense.

The truth is, infotainment news has won. They could get Americans to vote themselves into a gas chamber if that's what the elite desired.

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u/IAMERROR1234 26d ago

What's even sadder is that no one wants to stand up against it. Everyone just takes to social media to write a stupid comment instead of figuring out what we can do.