Overview

• Trump has privately lodged grievances for over a year about decisions by his six Supreme Court appointees, directing particular ire at Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
• Allies on the right have told Trump Barrett is “weak” after her votes against freezing $2 billion in foreign aid and her recusal in an Oklahoma charter school funding case.
• Despite the criticism, Barrett sided with Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito on more than 80% of decisions in the term that ended last year.
• The White House has affirmed that Trump will always respect the Supreme Court’s foundational role, and he has refrained from naming any justice in public criticism.
• Barrett’s occasional alignments with Chief Justice Roberts and the court’s liberal bloc highlight the tension between presidential expectations and judicial independence.