Yesterday was the final day of arguments for the current term of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court will meet on several non-argument days and in conference before releasing their decisions sometime this summer.
In his latest book, Ian Millhiser argues that the current conservative majority on the Court has the potential to radically alter American law and public policy. Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, all appointed to the bench by Donald Trump, are the first justices to be given lifetime appointments by a President who lost the popular vote, and who were confirmed by a group of Senators who represent less than half of the country.
Millhiser argues that the ramifications of this conservative majority are hugely significant. He describes a litany of laws that the court has changed, including legislation around voting rights, campaign finance, health care, religious liberty, Presidential power, and the environment, and he observes that compared to the Congresses of yesteryear, the modern Congress is now almost 80% less likely to enact legislation that would override a High Court decision.
Millhiser covers the Court as a senior correspondent at Vox. The book is called The Agenda: How a Republican Supreme Court is Reshaping America.
Ian Millhiser joins Tom on Zoom from his home in Arlington, VA.
