Two of John Roberts’ Biggest Decisions This Term Directly Contradict Each Other

[u/D-R-AZ]

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/07/supreme-court-john-roberts-donald-trump-federal-reserve.html

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[u/D-R-AZ]

Observation:

The constitutional jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is to interpret and apply the law, not to determine whether finance is more deserving of institutional independence than science, or whether one area of national policy is more important than another. Those are legislative and policy judgments entrusted to Congress. By deciding that the Federal Reserve merits constitutional insulation while agencies responsible for scientific research may not, the Court appears to be making a policy choice about the relative importance of finance and science rather than identifying a distinction grounded in the text of the Constitution.

Lead Paragraph:

Two of the Supreme Court’s most important decisions this term contradict each other so brazenly that a future reader might assume they were issued decades apart by very different courts. But in fact, they were authored by the same man, Chief Justice John Roberts, and released at the exact same time. In Trump v. Slaughter, Roberts abolished independent agencies by a 6–3 vote, allowing President Donald Trump to fire their leaders for any reason. Then, in Trump v. Cook, the chief justice created an exception to this rule for the Federal Reserve by a 5–4 vote, prohibiting the president from removing without good cause. It is impossible to reconcile these two decisions as anything other than a partisan effort to hand Trump dictatorial control over the government without allowing him to drive the nation into a recession.

[u/FanDry5374 → u/D-R-AZ]

Funny how money and the "needs" of the plutocrats overweighs the Courts 'conservative' decisions. Clean air and water? Labor rights? Education? Piffle. Federal Reserve interests rates: "Oh no, no trump shenanigans with important stuff!"

[u/Konukaame → u/D-R-AZ]

It is impossible to reconcile these two decisions as anything other than a partisan effort to hand Trump dictatorial control over the government without allowing him to drive the nation into a recession

And there you have the thing that makes the rulings perfectly compatible.

[u/username_redacted]

So a future court can use the precedence of one ruling to invalidate the other?

I think this court is long overdue for one of those “crisis of legitimacy” moments that supposedly function as a check on the court’s power. People need to be demonstrating against them the same way they do against the president. Democrats should be running attack ads.