The Supreme Court hit an inauspicious milestone Tuesday as it raced to finish its most divisive pending cases by the end of the month: It has already handed down more 6-3 decisions along ideological lines than it did for the entire term that ended last year.
As it navigates a charged political atmosphere during President Donald Trump’s second term and endures sharp criticism from the left and right, the court has already split into conservative and liberal camps in seven decisions this year — one more than last year — before it even gets to major cases on presidential power and transgender rights.
Some of those decisions, including on whether Trump may fire officials at independent federal agencies like the Federal Trade Commission, may also divide the court along ideological lines. The justices are scheduled to drop their next batch of opinions on Thursday.
Four of the five decisions the court released Tuesday were 6-3. Those included a ruling that barred a Rastafarian man from suing prison officials who violated a federal law when they cut his dreadlocks and a decision that permitted Exxon to sue over property confiscated by the Cuban government in 1960.
The most significant 6-3 decision so far this term was the court’s April ruling that gutted the Voting Rights Act’s power over redistricting disputes. The decision, and several that followed from it, helped Republicans quickly redraw congressional district in Southern states like Louisiana and Alabama to give the GOP an advantage in this year’s midterm elections.
