The Supreme Court's favorite branch of government is itself

This spring, the Supreme Court completed a term that consolidated power for itself and the presidency — at Congress's expense. According to Axios, the pattern is unmistakable: rulings that limit congressional authority over regulators, campaign finance, voting rights, and foreign aid. The legal theory driving many decisions is the 'unitary executive,' which holds that the president alone controls executive power. The justices applied it to strip the Federal Trade Commission of its independence, eliminate campaign spending limits it had upheld for decades, and weaken voting rights protections. Congress can no longer insulate agencies from presidential control, restrict political spending, or require race-conscious voting districts. But the Court's legal consistency is questionable. To constrain the FTC, the justices invoked strict constitutional text. Hours later, when the same logic threatened the Federal Reserve, they carved out an exception—without fully explaining why. They treated race as a constitutional crisis when defending Black voting power, yet overlooked racial motivation in approving the Trump administration's Haitian immigration policy. Georgetown Law professor Steve Vladeck told Axios: 'The real headline is Supreme Court rules for itself, six to three.' As Congress grows weaker each term and the executive branch expands, the nine justices emerge as the strongest branch of all.

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