SCOTUS Is About to Turbocharge Presidential Power

<p></p><p>Leah, Kate, and Melissa recap the oral argument in <i>Trump v. Slaughter</i>, a case that could nuke the administrative state as we know it by giving Trump broad leeway to fire heads of independent agencies. They also cover the other arguments in cases involving campaign finance and the death penalty, and various and sundry bits of legal news including the antics of Judge Emil Bove and Trump’s ongoing game of U.S. attorney musical chairs.</p><p>Favorite things:</p><ul>

<li>Leah: <a href="https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/at-will-whose-will?r=etla&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;triedRedirect=true">At will? Whose will?</a> By Don Moynihan (Can We Still Govern?)</li>

<li>Melissa: <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/2025/12/trump-kennedy-center-honors-host-awards/685187/">Trump’s Very Weird Night at the Kennedy Center Honors</a>, Alexandra Petri (The Atlantic); <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-flower-traveled-in-my-blood-the-incredible-true-story-of-the-grandmothers-who-fought-to-find-a-stolen-generation-of-children-haley-cohen-gilliland/40710c7c992d5988?ean=9781668017142&amp;next=t">A Flower Traveled in My Blood</a>, Haley Cohen Gilliland</li>

<li>Kate: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/us/andrew-tate-barron-trump-romania.html">How a Manosphere Star Accused of Rape and Trafficking Was Freed</a>, Megan Twohey and Isabella Kwai (NYT)</li>

</ul><p></p><p>Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025! </p><ul>

<li>3/6/26 – San Francisco</li>

<li>3/7/26 – Los Angeles</li>

</ul><p></p><p>Learn more: <a href="http://crooked.com/events">http://crooked.com/events</a></p><p>Order your copy of Leah's book, <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Lawless/Leah-Litman/9781668054628">Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes</a></p><p>Follow us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/strictscrutinypodcast/?hl=en">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.threads.net/@strictscrutinypodcast">Threads</a>, and <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/strictscrutiny.bsky.social">Bluesky</a></p>