Trump asks Supreme Court to allow ban on transgender service members from the military

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Thursday morning read:

• Justices Imply Narrow Fuel Maker Win in Auto Emissions Suit (Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson, Bloomberg Law)
• A forthcoming Supreme Court decision could limit agencies’ duty to consider environmental harms (Akielly Hu, Grist)
• Trump administration moved Venezuelan to Texas for possible deportation despite judge’s order (Luc Cohen, Reuters)
• One of the Most Complex Cases of the Supreme Court Term Is Also One of the Most Straightforward (Robyn Nicole Sanders, Slate)
• How (We Think) Emergency Applications Work (Steve Vladeck, One First)

Dear SCOTUSblog readers,

As one era ends, an exciting new one begins.

SCOTUSblog is delighted to announce that it has been acquired by Dispatch Media, Inc., and will round out The Dispatch’s coverage of the Supreme Court and the rule of law.

This blog began nearly a quarter of a century ago as a way to promote our legal work. Over the years, it has evolved into a resource on all things related to the Supreme Court, from soup-to-nuts coverage of the cases argued at the court to retirements, confirmations, and other special features. We have scaled back our coverage in recent years as the costs of that coverage grew, but through our partnership with The Dispatch, we will be able to restore SCOTUSblog’s publishing capabilities, including expanded analysis for all merits cases and oral arguments.

The court this morning is considering Diamond Alternative Energy LLC v. EPA, a dispute brought by fuel producers over California’s waiver from federal preemption for vehicle-emission standards, typically requiring lower emissions in the state, under the Clean Air Act. The waiver was introduced, in part, in recognition of the fact that California was the only state that regulated emissions before the CAA’s enactment.

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Wednesday morning read:

• One thing the modern Supreme Court can agree on is disagreeing over religion (Joan Biskupic, CNN)
• Supreme Court appears poised to rule for parents who objected to LGBTQ content in elementary schools (Lawrence Hurley, NBC News)
• Judge scorches Trump admin for stonewalling in Abrego Garcia deportation case (Kyle Cheney, Josh Gerstein, & Hassan Ali Kanu, Politico)
• Supreme Court reminds Trump to follow the law, signaling concern that he won’t (Chris Brennan, USA Today)
• Will the Bond Market be the Supreme Court’s Enforcement Tool in any Showdown with Trump? (Robert Litan)

We’re expecting one or more opinions from the Supreme Court this morning at 10 a.m. EDT. Join us for the live blog and on TikTok. Following the opinion announcements, the court will hear oral arguments in two case. In Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Zuch, Jennifer Zuch said she paid her taxes but, insisting she hadn’t, the IRS imposed a levy on her property and withheld her annual tax refunds. The justices will consider whether a lower court was right to dismiss the proceeding tax suit when Zuch argues she still has the right to demand her withheld funds. And in Mahmoud v. Taylor, the court will consider a group of Maryland parents’ effort to exempt their children from public school lessons with LGBTQ-themed books.

Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Tuesday morning read:

• Supreme Court appears to reject conservative argument over Obamacare provision (Josh Gerstein & Alice Miranda Ollstein, Politico) 
• ACLU says Trump officials not complying with Supreme Court in deportation case (Ann E. Marimow, The Washington Post)
• The Latest Supreme Court Case Targeting the ACA Comes from a Longtime Anti-Gay Activist (Madison Pauly, Mother Jones)
• Officers who attended Trump’s Jan. 6 rally petition Supreme Court to allow their anonymity in public records (Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News)
• Clash between Trump and the courts sparks questions of a constitutional crisis (Nina Totenberg, NPR)

The Supreme Court on Monday morning added one new case, involving a Texas woman’s claim against the U.S. Postal Service, to its docket for the 2025-26 term. The announcement came as part of a list of orders from the justices’ private conference on Thursday, April 17.

The court granted U.S. Postal Service v. Konan, in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled that the exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act for claims that “arise out of the loss” or “miscarriage” of “letters or postal matter” does not apply to claims that stem from a USPS employee’s intentional failure to deliver mail to a designated address. (John Elwood discussed the case in more detail in his Relist Watch column last week.)