Democrats' use of the legal system to try to block President Donald Trump's agenda has forced the Justice Department to turn to the Supreme Court.
The issues being contested include the deportation of illegal migrants, as well as the administration trying to implement reductions suggested by Trump's Department of Government Efficiency.
The Supreme Court's term will end in little more than a month and recent weeks have been inundated with DOJ requests seeking relief from lower-court judges' rulings, the Washington Examiner reported.
Trump invoked the 1798 "Alien Enemies" law to speed up deportations, especially members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. The act is a sweeping wartime authority that allows noncitizens to be deported without being given the opportunity to go before an immigration or federal court judge.
Although it has not ruled on the merits of Trump's invocation of the law, the high court has issued several orders related to lawsuits challenging the law's usage.
In April, the Supreme Court ruled that migrants subject to deportation must be given notice and allowed time to challenge their expulsion under the Alien Enemies law, and also blocked the deportations of a group of Venezuelans in North Texas through a late-night order.
In May, the court paused the deportations of a group of Venezuelan nationals in Texas, sending the case back to the appeals court for a review of the merits of the case.
The question of the legality of Trump's use of the Alien Enemies law likely will reach the Supreme Court, the Examiner reported.
The Supreme Court also heard arguments over the Trump administration's executive order aiming to end birthright citizenship. However, during the hearing, justices appeared more concerned with the legality of U.S. District Courts issuing nationwide injunctions.
The Trump administration's efforts to reshape the executive branch also have brought lower-court decisions that are being appealed to the high court.
The Supreme Court decided last week that Trump likely has the authority to fire independent agency board members, endorsing a robust view of presidential power. The decision, not a final ruling, keeps on hold an appellate ruling that had temporarily reinstated Gwynne Wilcox to the National Labor Relations Board and Cathy Harris to the Merit Systems Protection Board.
But the court suggested that it could block an attempt to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who Trump has said has not cut interest rates aggressively.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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