President Joe Biden's tenure marked a period of unprecedented judicial resistance as his administration confronted a conservative-majority Supreme Court.
According to Reuters, Biden's presidency experienced a remarkable series of defeats at the Supreme Court, with the conservative majority consistently dismantling key elements of his agenda and overturning long-standing liberal precedents.
The Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority, solidified by Donald Trump's three appointees, dealt significant blows to Biden's initiatives. The court's decisions ranged from overturning Roe v. Wade to rejecting race-conscious college admissions policies and expanding gun rights, fundamentally reshaping the American legal landscape during Biden's term.
The court's conservative bloc demonstrated its power by striking down the administration's $430 billion student loan relief plan and limiting federal regulatory agencies' authority. These decisions reflected a broader pattern of judicial resistance to executive power, particularly in cases involving major economic and political significance.
Berkeley Law School Dean Erwin Chemerinsky noted:
I think it is the toughest series of defeats since Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s had many New Deal programs declared unconstitutional.
The administration's struggles were compounded by its inability to shift the court's ideological balance, with Biden appointing only one justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, who replaced another liberal justice.
The court's embrace of the major questions doctrine significantly curtailed federal agencies' regulatory authority. This legal principle gave judges broad discretion to invalidate executive agency actions of substantial economic and political significance.
Cornell Law School professor Gautam Hans observed:
The environmental law and student loan cases show how disdainful the court is of Democratic executive action, precisely because the lack of congressional movement means that executive action remains the only avenue for any kind of policy progress in the U.S.
The court's decision to overturn the longstanding Chevron deference doctrine in 2024 further weakened federal regulatory power, marking another victory for conservatives and business interests.
Despite the overwhelming setbacks, Biden secured some victories, including the court's approval of TikTok regulations and preservation of domestic violence gun restrictions. However, these wins often stemmed from technical legal grounds rather than endorsements of his policies.
The administration faced additional challenges as the court granted former President Trump significant legal protections, including broad immunity for official acts taken during his presidency. This decision prompted Biden to criticize it as "a dangerous precedent."
President Biden's term concludes with a dramatically altered legal landscape shaped by the Supreme Court's conservative majority. The court's decisions during his presidency fundamentally changed the scope of executive power and federal regulatory authority, affecting issues from abortion rights to environmental protection.
As Biden prepares to hand over power to Trump on Monday, the impact of these judicial defeats extends beyond his presidency. The court's transformation of constitutional interpretation and federal regulatory authority will continue to influence American governance, particularly as Trump returns to office with the potential to further strengthen the court's conservative majority through future appointments.
