Critics have accused President Donald Trump and his administration of openly using their authority over the U.S. Supreme Court. They claim that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is influencing the court’s decision in order to support conservative groups that back the Republican ideology. The groups in question, reportedly deal with arms and ammunition, religion and climate change.
According to CNN, experts are blaming the Trump administration for weaponizing the law and using its strong influence to interfere in high-profile cases in the Supreme Court.
It is a common practice to invite the DOJ in the court to share its opinion or hear appeals. The solicitor general can even recommend the department in certain cases. However, Solicitor General Dean John Sauer has taken a more aggressive approach, urging the court to take up more culture war cases.
This blows my mind: the Supreme Court has basically authorized the president to use the DOJ to further his criminal schemes. I wonder if John Roberts realizes that he authored perhaps the worst scotus decision in history. pic.twitter.com/f4TME006ki
— James O. Mauldin 💙🇺🇸 (@mauldin006) October 2, 2024
What makes this push more questionable to critics is the fact that the Supreme Court did not ask for the administration’s assistance. The report states that, as of now, the DOJ has interfered in at least five cases. One of the most prominent among those, was an appeal involving religious preschools.
Georgetown University Law Center professor and CNN Supreme Court analyst Steve Vladeck stated that Sauer’s position immensely helps Trump. He said, “It’s using the solicitor general’s unique position as a way to push not just the policy and political agenda of the current president, but the broader ideological agenda of the Republican Party.”
Surprisingly, the solicitor general’s office has managed to avoid scrutiny during Trump’s second term as president. It has been alleged that Sauer balances the president’s agenda along with his court responsibilities.
Nobody asked: Trump’s DOJ steps up uninvited recommendations at Supreme Court
The 6-3 conservative court repeatedly sided with Trump last year, backing the administration 80% of the time on its emergency docket.https://t.co/XUkAbSABrk pic.twitter.com/uhT4gBoxbG
— EJW (@TedWilcox7) February 13, 2026
An anonymous DOJ insider told CNN that so far, the court has agreed to consider three recommendations from the solicitor general’s office. Agreement on two other appeals is yet to be approved. The source, however, emphasized that the act of uninvited filings is extremely rare.
In a briefing in late January, the solicitor general urged the court to hear an appeal involving a Colorado law. The appeal included a preschool that wanted to admit children irrespective of their race, ethnicity, religion, orientation, gender identity or disability. The Archdiocese of Denver is challenging the law.
The church is represented by Becket Law, which emphasizes that it follows traditional teachings and asks for public funding. Sauer wrote in his brief that a lower court ruling supporting the Colorado law could “stymie religious exercise in major portions of the country.”
Reportedly, the Supreme Court has repeatedly sided with religious groups in similar cases in recent years. The court will decide whether it will hear the case later this year.
