On Thursday, July 23rd, 2026, Justice Elena Kagan, one of the Supreme Court's three liberal justices, addressed an audience of lawyers and judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit in Bellevue, Washington. She stated that while the Supreme Court is deeply conservative, it is not merely a rubber stamp for President Donald Trump.

Kagan acknowledged that the court has sided with the Trump administration in most cases, including upholding immigration crackdowns and expanding federal regulatory authority. However, she highlighted significant rulings where the court checked the executive branch, such as rejecting Trump's sweeping tariffs and efforts to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants.

"Is this court very conservative? Does it do a bunch of things that are out of the playbook of the conservative legal movement that I think are deeply wrong? You know, yes," Kagan said. "But is this court the kind of puppet for the current administration? I think definitely not."

Kagan's remarks followed testimony she gave before Congress alongside conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett on security threats and other court issues. She reiterated support for appointing a committee of retired judges to enforce the Supreme Court's first code of ethics, adopted in 2023 amid criticism over undisclosed trips and gifts to some justices.

Additionally, liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson had earlier expressed concern that the court risked being perceived as political after striking down a majority-Black district in Louisiana and weakening the Voting Rights Act.

Kagan, who served as solicitor general during the Obama administration, also reflected on the respect traditionally accorded to the presidency, saying, "You really did kind of think, he probably has other things to do, you know? I was sort of thinking, I worked for a president, and when a president walks into the room, you get the whole ‘Hail to the Chief’ stuff."

Sources