President Obama’s abysmal record before the U.S. Supreme Court serves as an object lesson for President Trump in exercising executive authority.
A study by two university professors found that presidents overall have been having less success arguing cases before the high court since President Ronald Reagan, who won three quarters of his administration’s cases.
For any administration dating back to FDR, the worst record goes to Team Obama. Out of 186 cases in which the United States, the president or the U.S. attorney general was a party, the Obama administration lost half of them.
Over the course of 84 Supreme Court terms, U.S. presidents prevailed in about two-thirds of their cases before the court, according to a Washington Free Beacon report on the study.
Where Mr. Obama came up short with the court was in cases in which he wielded executive authority like a cudgel. These failed cases included the executive action granting work permits to 5 million illegal aliens and Obama’s attempt to make recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board — while the Senate was in session.
Most embarrassing are the 10 cases in 2016 that Obama lost unanimously, meaning his own court appointees didn’t support his positions.
If Mr. Trump, in his flurry of executive orders, likewise turns a deaf ear to the Constitution, he can expect the same result. Take this as a reminder that Americans are not ruled by royalty; they’re served by presidents.
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