Why is SCOTUS Hoarding Opinions?
6/22/20261 hr 27 min
Leah, Melissa, Kate, and special guest Elie Mystal of The Nation speculate about why the Court is hoarding opinions this late into bad decision season before diving deep on the ruling in United States v. Hemani, which features drugs, the Second Amendment, and Amy Coney Barrett’s iconic Ambien jar. Plus: a new summer cocktail makes its debut, and no holds are barred, especially when it comes to Trump’s flop makeover of the Reflecting Pool. This episode was recorded live at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City.
Favorite things:
- Leah:Barack Obama’s speech at the opening of his presidential center,
- Kate:Michelle Obama’s speech; Obama and Mamdani Show How It’s Done, Jamelle Bouie (NYT)
- Melissa: Becoming (Netflix); her award-winning audiobook
Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE on November 6th in Washington, DC: Crookedcon.com
Buy Melissa’s book, The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader
Buy Leah’s book, Lawless, now out in paperback
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 10:00
Strict Scrutiny is brought to you by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The Trump administration's excessive Christian nationalist rhetoric is only building as we move toward the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Those most caught in the crossfire are federal workers. Specifically, a multi-faith group of federal employees filed a new lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture for violating the separation of church and state, and their religious freedom promised in our Constitution. Our friends at Americans United for Separation of Church and State receive emails from multiple USDA employees. A handful of employees reached out, saying the proselytizing Easter email sent by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins to more than 100,000 USDA employees is an abuse of power that violates a separation of church and state promised in the First Amendment. They are absolutely right. We've tried to explain to these guys before. You can overrule Lemon and call it abandoned all you want. The first sentence of the First Amendment still says, "No establishment of religion." The hits just keep on coming from this administration, and Americans United is doing their best to keep up the fight against Christian nationalism. If you want to help, head to au.org/crooked to learn more about their work and how you can get involved. Every weekday, NPR's best political reporters come to you on the NPR Politics Podcast to make sense of the biggest news from Washington and beyond. They don't just tell you what happened, they explain how decisions made in Washington could affect you, from gas prices and affordability to elections and other issues shaping your community.