I know I promised I wouldn’t send you emails on Mondays unless there was news, but there was something I was thinking about all weekend that I wanted to share.

Shortly after Donald Trump took office, someone asked me if the Supreme Court would rein in Trump’s excesses or allow him to transform the presidency into a virtual dictatorship. My answer then, and my view ever since, has been that it depends on how cases present to the high court. If the underlying cases involve the president’s ability to control the executive branch, I predicted Trump would prevail. If, however, cases arrived at the Court as struggles between the president and the judiciary, he would lose.

Put another way, I believe there are at least five justices who support a strong unitary executive: the Chief Justice and Justices Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Thomas. But I also believe there are at least five justices who consider the judiciary essential to our system of government and will not allow the executive branch to encroach on its power. This group includes the Chief Justice and Justices Barrett, Kagan, Jackson and Sotomayor.

How we emerge from this period in history may depend on… 

Want to know if Marc thinks the Supreme Court will hold Trump accountable? In the full version of this piece, Marc dives into two Supreme Court cases that reveal Republicans’ attitude toward the high court. Upgrade now for $120/year or $10/month to get the full version sent straight to your inbox. 

You’ll always receive exclusive analysis like this, as well as Marc’s weekly reading list, tip sheet and more — all available on the members-only section of the Democracy Docket website!