Chief justice of the United States John Roberts voted against President Donald Trump just hours after the president was heard on a hot mic repeatedly thanking him.
Newsweek sought email comment from the offices of Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and Roberts, on Thursday.
Why It Matters
There was widespread speculation about why Trump was thanking Roberts, as he and his Supreme Court colleagues must stay completely independent and neutral.
Roberts’ vote against Trump on whether to defund the aid agency, USAID, shifts the context of speculation that Trump was thanking Roberts for supporting his second term political agenda.
What To Know
Trump addressed both houses of Congress on March 4, and Supreme Court justices are invited to attend such speeches.
As is often done by presidents after their Congressional address, Trump shook hands with gathered Senators, Supreme Court justices and members of the House of Representatives.
As he shook Roberts’ hand, Trump told him: “Thank you again. Thank you again. Won’t forget it.”
Trump was still wearing a microphone and his words were heard clearly on TV networks broadcasting the speech, leading to widespread speculation by political pundits about why Trump was thanking Roberts.
USAID Case
On Wednesday, Roberts voted with the Supreme Court liberals, defeating Trump’s attempts to withhold $2 billion in payments due from the federal aid agency, USAID.
Washington, D.C judge, Amir Ali, had earlier blocked Trump’s order.
In a 5-4 ruling on Wednesday, Roberts and fellow conservative, Amy Coney Barrett, joined Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson and supported Ali’s ruling.
What People Are Saying
Many commentators said that Trump was thanking Roberts, the highest-ranking federal judiciary official, for supporting him in Supreme Court decisions.
An article by The Atlantic magazine’s opinion writer, Adam Serwer, went with the headline ‘Why Trump Thanked John Roberts’, adding: “The conservative justices are frequently accomplices to Trump’s assault on democracy.”
Insurrection Case
Serwer wrote: “We can’t know precisely what the president meant, but Trump does have a lot to thank Roberts for.’
“After all, the chief justice and the other conservatives on the Supreme Court helped rewrite the Fourteenth Amendment, completely gutting the ban on insurrectionists holding office in order to allow Trump to run for president again following his attempt to seize power by force after the 2020 election.”
On March 4, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. Anderson that Donald Trump had a right to run for president.
A group of Colorado activists had claimed that the 14th amendment barred “insurrectionists” from holding federal office and that Trump was an “insurrectionist” because of his alleged role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S Capitol.
The Inauguration
On Wednesday, Trump explained on his social media site, Truth Social, that he was only thanking Roberts for swearing him in as president on January 20, 2025.
Trump used the opportunity to attack the media for its speculation.
“The Fake ‘Play the Ref’ News, in order to create a divide between me and our great U.S. Supreme Court, heard me say last night, loudly and openly as I was walking past the Justices on the way to the podium, ‘thank you,’ to Chief Justice John Roberts,” Trump wrote.
“Like most people, I don’t watch Fake News CNN or MSDNC, but I understand they are going ‘crazy’ asking what is it that I was thanking Justice Roberts for?”
Trump’s term MSDNC is suggesting that the liberal-leaning MSNBC is working for the Democratic National Committee, or DNC.
Trump claimed that had CNN or MSNBC called the White House to check “I would have told these sleazebag ‘journalists’ that I thanked him [Roberts] for SWEARING ME IN ON INAUGURATION DAY, AND DOING A REALLY GOOD JOB IN SO DOING!
“The Fake News never quits!” Trump wrote.
What Happens Next
At least ten federal judges have placed Trump’s executive orders under temporary restraining orders or longer lasting preliminary injunctions.
Many of those cases will likely reach the Supreme Court.
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