The end is nigh! Or, the end of this Supreme Court term is nigh, at least.&nbsp;&nbsp;On the second to last day of this term, the court’s right wingers delivered a sweeping ruling that will reshape the federal government for years to come. In <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25-332_qn12.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Trump v. Slaughter</a>, the conservative supermajority voted 6-3 to allow the president to fire members of independent regulatory agencies—overturning<a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/295us602" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Humphrey's Executor</a>, a 91-year-old unanimous precedent—and handing Trump effective control over agencies that regulate consumer protection, nuclear energy, union activity, mine safety, and more. But the Roberts majority weren’t quite ready to hand the nation’s credit card (and their investment portfolios) over to the mad king, and so the Federal Reserve got a carve-out in a separate 5-4 ruling in <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25a312_5468.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Trump v. Cook</a>. How did they reach these wildly different conclusions in such closely related cases? Justice Roberts offered a barely argued rationale, but who needs a rationale if your red lines are painted in a crimson of pure cynicism?The court also handed down a significant Fourth Amendment ruling on <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/okello-chatrie-v-united-states-america" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">geofence warrants</a>, with <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25-112_0am4.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Justice Kagan writing for a 6-3 majority</a> that such warrants constitute a "search" under the Fourth Amendment.&nbsp;And in<a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/republican-national-committee-v-free-enterprise-club/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-1260_g3cn.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Watson v. Republican National Committee</a>, the court upheld state laws allowing mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they arrive shortly after. But the squeaker of a 5-4 majority was deeply alarming in a case that played to some of the justices’ fox-brained ideas about election fraud. Justice Alito and his fellow dissenters appear to have signed onto the wholly unsupported view that Democrat wins are always suspect, and the only way to restore trust in voting is to restrict voting. <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/06/supreme-court-roberts-barrett-bonkers-voting-case.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">As Rick Hasen writes for Slate, we won’t be as lucky next time</a>.&nbsp;The term wraps this week and Amicus is with you all the way for clear-eyed analysis of the final raft of decisions. Slate Plus members can also <a href="https://slate.com/breakfasttable" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">sign up</a> for our special end-of-term conversation. Join Dahlia and Mark as they unpack this Supreme Court term with some of the smartest legal analysts in the business as part of our live online audience, July 10 at noon EDT. Slate Plus members will also have access to an exclusive Q&A with Dahlia and Mark. Submit your questions now to <a href="mailto:amicus@slate.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">amicus@slate.com</a>This is part of <a href="https://slate.com/tag/opinionpalooza-2025" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Opinionpalooza</a>, Slate’s coverage of the major decisions from the Supreme Court. The best way to support our work is by joining <a href="https://slate.com/plus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Slate Plus</a>. (If you are already a member, consider a <a href="https://slate.com/donate?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus&utm_content=nav_bar&utm_source=nav" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">donation</a> or <a href="https://shop.slate.com/collections/exclusive-amicus-merch" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">merch</a>!)This episode is member-exclusive. Listen to it now by subscribing to Slate Plus. By joining, not only will you unlock weekly bonus episodes of Amicus—you’ll also access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amicus-with-dahlia-lithwick-law-justice-and-the-courts/id928790786" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a> and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/7DpL32jgjwBTah8o9HQkBl" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a>. Or, visit <a href="https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Amicus&utm_source=show_summary" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">slate.com/amicusplus</a> to get access wherever you listen.<hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

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