The US Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a devastating blow to the US -- and global -- battle against climate change, one of a series of recent decisions that prompted President Joe Biden to accuse the court of destabilizing the country.
In a 6-3 ruling that hewed to the now-familiar conservative-liberal cleave in the court, the six Republican-appointed judges ruled that the US Environmental Protection Agency does not have the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emission without clear authorization from Congress.
In doing so, the court sided with pro-coal, Republican-governed states in a case brought by West Virginia against the EPA, virtually gutting the Democrats' climate agenda. The decision will effectively shaft rules that set state-by-state targets for emissions reduction or a cap-and-trade system that would lead to a faster shift to clean energy.
Coming on the heels of the ruling that bans most abortions in half of America governed by Republicans, the decision incensed President Biden, who in remarks during a visit to Europe accused the Court of "outrageous behaviour" and "destabilizing" America.
"The first and foremost thing we should do, is make it clear how outrageous this decision was and how much it impacts - not just on a woman's right to choose, which is a critical, critical piece - but on privacy generally," Biden said of the abortion ruling that has pitted states against each other and led to widespread unrest across America.
The decisions prompted Biden to revive Democratic efforts to torpedo the filibuster, a legislative mechanism that requires 60 votes in the Senate to pass laws that can overcome SC rulings. Because neither side comes anywhere close to 60 votes, a side that has 40+ votes can effectively kill any legislation if it is opposed to it.
Busting open the filibuster itself will require 51 votes, and Democrats currently have that number (barely; with vice-president Kamala Harris' tie-breaker vote), except that two Democratic Senators -- Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema -- previously derailed such efforts because their voter base is conservative and more in tune with the Republican line.
The political and ideological fracas sets the stage for the November mid-term elections when the full 435-member House and one-third of the 100-member US Senate will go to the polls in what will effectively be a referendum on the US Supreme Court and a host of its rulings and decisions. If Democrats get anywhere close to 60 in the Senate (considered impossible in a chamber currently deadlocked 50-50), they can legislate bills to overcome SC decisions.
Any advance beyond 50 will help Democrats generate momentum for support from moderate Republicans. Losing its wafer-thin tie-breaker-driven majority will doom Democrats' agenda and further gridlock in Washington.
"The bottom line here is: If you care, if the polling data is correct, and you think this decision by the court was an outrage or a significant mistake, vote. Show up and vote," Biden said in remarks in Europe, alluding to data showing the SC rulings are out of sync with the views of a majority of Americans.
The big problem Democrats have here is some Republican states have engineered laws and rules to constrain Democrat supporters from voting, accusing the ruling party of trying to draft immigrants and foreigners to perpetuate their rule.
The US Supreme Court's six conservative justices have all been nominated by Republican Presidents (three by Trump) and confirmed by a Senate that has two lawmakers from each state regardless of population. This enables small, thinly-populated red States to wield disproportionate power.
President Trump lucked into three SC vacancies during his term, enabling Republicans to staff the court with a 6-3 supermajority. The sharp ideological divide has left the two major parties hoping vacancies arise when they are in control of the White House and Senate.
On Thursday, Democrats heaved a sigh of relief as liberal justice Stephen Breyer made way for Ketanji Brown Jackson to be sworn in as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. Breyer evidently chose to retire ( and was implicitly pressured to retire) during Democratic control of White House and Senate, so there could be a liberal replacement.
