Staff Reports
The advent of Donald Trump returning to the White House potentially sets the stage for a dramatic shift in legal confrontations over Biden administration policies. Transitioning from being the president of executive orders to effectively scrapping or reinterpreting those orders promises an uptick in courtroom activity. The issues at stake include everything from radical transgender healthcare procedures for minors to border security, gun control, and environmental regulations. It’s a buffet of contentious topics just waiting for Trump to take action.
The Supreme Court remains the most likely arena for noticeable impacts as the Biden administration stubbornly defends its various lofty agendas, especially surrounding the social and environmental policies that have many scratching their heads. Trump has a grand opportunity to roll the dice on existing cases plaguing the federal court system by positioning his administration against the very regulations the previous administration sought to enforce. Legal strategies from the Trump camp might not just challenge these issues head-on but could also look for ways to sidestep angry courtroom confrontations, conspicuously signaling a change in course.
The DOJ Antitrust Division under Trump "will take a cold hard look" at existing antitrust cases, says Makan Delrahim. "If they believe that it's regulatory overreach, I anticipate the new assistant attorney general, the new attorney general will pare back some of those cases." pic.twitter.com/moYeTQsw03
— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) November 11, 2024
Legal experts are weighing in, citing precedent that shows this sort of back-and-forth maneuvering isn’t just a quirk of our current political climate. Case in point, it’s not uncommon for administrations to swing the pendulum based on ideology, akin to watching a child try to decide between chocolate and vanilla ice cream. In Trump’s hands, the Justice Department could effectively wave goodbye to some of the more leftist policies, opting instead to use the rulemaking process to untangle the mess left behind. Rather than assuming the role of a defender in court, the DOJ might simply indicate to courts that it’s time to reconsider the often ludicrous regulations borne from the previous administration.
In states like North Dakota, legal battles currently favoring leftist ideologies could swiftly reverse in Trump’s favor. For example, challenges surrounding water regulations and immigration policies—especially those dealing with DACA—are likely to be overturned or at least taken under serious reconsideration. The potential for a do-over on these policies is strong, especially in an environment where bipartisan squabbling has only highlighted the inconsistency of policies surrounding healthcare and immigration for years.
Shifting focus to the Supreme Court, particular cases are poised for a Trump-fueled refresh. For instance, for Tennessee’s law regarding the access of transgender minors to hormone procedures, there exists the real possibility that a Trump DOJ could decide to simply sit on the sidelines. Although Trump can’t directly alter the legal landscape overnight, signaling a withdrawal from such high-stakes cases taps into the opportunity for judicial interpretation that align more closely with conservative morals.
Simultaneously, the longstanding disputes between the Biden administration’s DOJ and Texas are likely to simmer down as Trump’s hardline stance on border security returns to the forefront. With the wave of Trumpian fervor surrounding immigration control, lawsuits contesting Texas’s pro-active measures, such as deploying floating barriers and razor wire fences, might meet a swift dismissal. Under Trump, the DOJ could feel emboldened to drop these flimsy challenges, thereby allowing states to take charge in defending their borders without federal pushback. A new landscape of state autonomy may very well emerge from the ashes of the Biden administration’s legal wrangling.
What remains clear is that with Trump at the helm, a substantial chunk of previously entrenched regulations may soon face an overhaul—literally and figuratively. And as GOP defenders watch the courts transform into a battlefield of ideologies, it’s clear they have been gifted a situation ripe for reclaiming conservative ground. The shift away from the left’s obsession with control over daily lives promises to breed not only legal chatter but spirited debate across the nation.
