Trump’s immunity case is another reminder that all roads now lead to the Supreme Court

CNN —

The Supreme Court’s hearing Thursday on former President Donald Trump’s immunity claim will underline a historic power shift. In a closely divided era when neither party has proven able to maintain control of the White House and Congress for very long, the six GOP-appointed justices on the high court have become the most durable source of influence determining the nation’s direction.

“There’s an argument to be made that the Supreme Court is the central character in our national story right now because they are setting the terms by which the other branches and the states and the American people operate in a much more assertive way than perhaps they ever have,” said historian Jeff Shesol, author of an authoritative account of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s confrontations with the court during the Great Depression.

Although Chief Justice John Roberts at his confirmation hearing famously likened the court to an impartial “umpire,” the conservative majority has steadily steered policy on a wide range of social, racial and economic issues toward the preferences of the Republican Party, whose presidents nominated them and whose senators provided the vast majority of votes to confirm them.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 22: Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media at the end of the day at Manhattan Criminal Court during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments on April 22, 2024 in New York City. Trump was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records last year, which prosecutors say was an effort to hide a potential sex scandal, both before and after the 2016 presidential election. (Photo by Victor J. Blue - Pool/Getty Images)

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