It has been a crazy week in the nation’s capital with no end in sight. The federal government is heading straight to a shutdown and the Democrats and Trump are digging in their heels.
Mattis is out and sent the resignation letter heard round the world and to add to the headline news, Ruth Bader Ginsburg has lung cancer.
Or had – she underwent a procedure to remove the cancerous growths but this is a very serious situation.
Now comes even more breaking news – the Supreme Court just ruled against Trump’s asylum policies in a stunning 5-4 decision.
John Roberts cast the deciding vote in a move no one saw coming and in what will surely cause some response from the west wing.
From CNN: The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a federal judge’s order blocking the Trump administration’s new asylum restrictions.
Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the four liberal justices in the 5-4 ruling.
The administration’s policy, signed on November 9, would temporarily bar migrants who illegally cross into the US through the southern border from seeking asylum outside of official ports of entry. A federal judge in California quickly blocked the order, and the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals agreed.
“It’s a major blow to the Trump administration, and sends a strong signal that there are at least five Justices who agree with the district court that the asylum ban exceeds the President’s statutory authority,” said Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at the University of Texas School of Law.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh said they would have granted the administration’s request to lift the hold on the ban.
This is the first high-profile vote in which Kavanaugh broke from Roberts. Earlier this year, he and Roberts joined with liberals to rebuff efforts by states seeking to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood.
The district court last month said the ban “irreconcilably conflicts” with immigration law. A panel of judges on the 9th circuit upheld the injunction in an opinion penned by Judge Jay Bybee, a George W. Bush nominee.
