Judicial Coup: How Trump is Using the Courts to Rewrite America’s Future

The Supreme Court is no longer just ruling on laws—it’s reinterpreting fundamental rights. SCOTUS rulings last decades. Trump’s goal is to make conservative policies permanent, even if he loses in 2028.

Judicial Coup: How Trump is Using the Courts to Rewrite America’s Future
Photo by Claire Anderson / Unsplash

The Supreme Court is no longer neutral—it’s a GOP-controlled policy weapon. Trump and his legal allies are deliberately crafting cases designed to reach SCOTUS to secure rulings that permanently reshape U.S. law.

In this post, we’ll be discussing their key strategies:

  • Using executive orders that invite lawsuits (knowing they’ll reach SCOTUS).
  • Slow-walking compliance with lower court rulings (buying time for appeals).
  • Weaponizing legal rollbacks via agency rule changes (avoiding Congress entirely). 

Why this matters: SCOTUS rulings last decades. Trump’s goal is to make conservative policies permanent, even if he loses in 2028.

The Strategy: How Trump & the GOP Are Rigging the Courts 

Why does Trump want all major legal battles at the Supreme Court?

SCOTUS rulings override lower courts, making them permanent precedent. A legal precedent is a past court decision that sets the standard for all similar future cases. Once SCOTUS rules on an issue, lower courts must follow that decision, even if a future administration disagrees. 

How he’s making this happen: 

  • Filing executive orders & regulations that bait lawsuits (forcing issues into the courts). 
  • Department of Justice (DOJ) refusing full compliance with rulings to force higher appeals. 
  • GOP Attorneys General in red states coordinating lawsuits to fast-track cases to SCOTUS. 

What does this look like right now? 

Federal DEI Ban: 

  • Trump banned diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in federal agencies via executive order. 
  • Federal judge issued an injunction against the ban (Feb 22, 2025), blocking its enforcement. (1)
  • The DOJ slow-walked compliance, allowing time to push the case toward SCOTUS. 
  • If SCOTUS rules in Trump’s favor, DEI bans would become national precedent. (2)

The Supreme Court is no longer just ruling on laws—it’s reinterpreting fundamental rights. This means that decisions are being framed in a way that fundamentally reshapes how laws are applied, even without changing the Constitution itself. Rather than upholding existing protections, the Court is setting new legal standards that actively restrict rights.

An injunction (also known as a Temporary Restraining Order, or TRO) is a court order that stops a law or policy from being enforced while a case is being litigated. 

Trump’s team is weaponizing injunctions to: 

  • Block policies they oppose until SCOTUS can intervene. If a policy is blocked for months or years, it can be effectively killed even if courts eventually rule in its favor. 
  • Create uncertainty & fear, discouraging opposition. If people believe a law won’t stand, they’re less likely to fight for it. 
  • Give states a legal shield to defy federal authority. Republican-led states use injunctions to refuse compliance with federal laws they oppose, knowing SCOTUS may back them up.

What does this look like right now? 

Birthright Citizenship Order (Feb 2025) 

  • Trump signed an executive order denying automatic U.S. citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants. 
  • A federal judge immediately blocked it via an injunction (Feb 28, 2025). (3)
  • But the goal isn’t to win in lower courts—it’s to force a SCOTUS showdown on the 14th Amendment. 
  • If SCOTUS upholds Trump’s order, it could gut birthright citizenship—a cornerstone of U.S. immigration law. (3) 

This is legal warfare. Even losing cases serve the long-term goal of shifting judicial precedent. 

Trump’s control over the judiciary is not accidental—it is a deliberate, long-term strategy to manipulate the legal system in his favor. Judge stacking refers to his administration’s rapid appointment of three Supreme Court justices and over 200 federal judges, many of whom were young, ideologically extreme, and had little to no prior judicial experience. These lifetime appointments tilted the entire federal court system toward conservative rulings for a generation, ensuring that any legal challenge to Trump’s policies would be decided by a judge loyal to his political vision. 

At the same time, Republican legal groups engage in forum shopping, a practice where they file lawsuits in judicial districts where they know a conservative judge will hear the case. Red-state attorneys general coordinate legal challenges to get cases in front of Trump appointed judges, guaranteeing rulings that favor Republican priorities. These lower-court decisions are then fast-tracked to the Supreme Court, where the conservative majority can solidify them into national precedent. 

It’s not about fairness—it’s about controlling which judges decide which cases. With this level of judicial influence, Trump can override legislative processes entirely, dismantle policies without congressional approval, and ensure legal decisions align with his agenda—even long after he leaves office. This strategy effectively turns the judiciary into an unelected extension of his administration, undermining the constitutional balance of powers.

What’s at Stake? 

Trump’s legal team is laying the groundwork for SCOTUS to rule on:

  • Birthright citizenship (potentially gutting the 14th Amendment). 
  • Federal DEI bans (stripping workplace discrimination protections).
  • Expanding presidential immunity (shielding Trump from prosecution).
  • Federal oversight on gerrymandering (allowing GOP to permanently rig elections). 

This isn’t just a legal battle—it’s a structural power grab. If SCOTUS rules in Trump’s favor, the executive branch will gain unchecked power, making it nearly impossible for future administrations to reverse these rulings. Even if Trump loses in 2028, these rulings will remain in place, restricting civil rights, elections, and democracy itself. 

This is why Republicans are playing the long game—they don’t need to win every election if they control the courts. 

If these cases reach SCOTUS with its 6-3 conservative majority, Trump’s authoritarian framework could become law for decades.

How We Fight Back 

  1. Expose the legal strategy—most Americans don’t realize what’s happening. 
  2. Push Senate Democrats to pass legislation countering SCOTUS overreach. 
  3. Support legal groups challenging these cases in lower courts: 
    • ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) 
    • NAACP Legal Defense Fund 
    • EarthJustice (environmental legal defense) 
    • Lambda Legal (LGBTQ+ legal advocacy) 
    • Brennan Center for Justice (democracy & voting rights advocacy)
    • Southern Poverty Law Center (fighting extremism & civil rights violations)

Call to Action: 

  • Stay informed—don’t let them do this quietly.
  • Write to your senators (demand action against SCOTUS overreach).

Contacting Your Senator: Templates

Email/Letter Template 

Subject: Urgent: Protect Our Democracy from Supreme Court Overreach

Dear [Senator’s Name], 

I am writing to urge you to take immediate action against the Supreme Court’s growing overreach. Recent cases show a clear pattern of the Court overturning long-established rights, including attacks on diversity, immigration, and voting protections. I am deeply concerned that ongoing cases could permanently alter the legal landscape in ways that undermine democracy. I urge you to: 

  1. Advocate for judicial reform, including term limits for Supreme Court justices. 
  2. Support legislative measures that counteract SCOTUS decisions restricting civil rights. 
  3. Speak out against the coordinated legal strategy aimed at dismantling constitutional protections. 

I appreciate your leadership and look forward to your response on how you plan to address these threats. 

Sincerely, 

[Your Name] 

Phone Call Script 

Call (202) 224-3121 to reach your senator’s office:

Hi, my name is [Your Name], and I’m a constituent from [Your State]. I’m calling because I’m deeply concerned about the Supreme Court’s growing overreach and the way Trump’s legal team is using the courts to dismantle constitutional rights. 

I urge the Senator to take action by supporting judicial reform, opposing court stacking strategies, and fighting back against the GOP’s legal manipulation. Can you tell me what the Senator is doing to counteract this?

Sources

  1. Reuters. (2025, February 22). U.S. judge blocks Trump’s bid to ban DEI in federal agencies and contractors. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com
  2. Inside Higher Ed. (2025, February 24). Part of Trump’s anti-DEI orders blocked—for now. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com
  3. Reuters. (2025, February 28). Appeals court won’t disturb injunction against Trump’s birthright order. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com
  4. SCOTUSblog. (2023, June 30). Supreme Court strikes down Biden’s student loan relief plan. Retrieved from https://www.scotusblog.com

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