Ground Control to Major Questions Doctrine
Opening Arguments
Opening Arguments Media LLC
4.3 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 27 February 2026
⏱️ 53 minutes
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Summary
OA1239 - Did the Supreme Court just hand Donald Trump the biggest L in US presidential history? We go beyond the headlines to break down the first decision on the merits of any of the second Trump term’s policies. What is the deal with the “major questions doctrine” and why can’t the conservative justices agree about what it is and how to use it? Why did Neil Gorsuch choose this case to drop a lengthy diss track with bars about every one of his colleagues? And is there anything Clarence Thomas wouldn’t let a Republican president do? We then review a lesser-noticed SCOTUS decision from this week on whether you can sue USPS for intentionally stealing your mail for openly racist reasons (the answer may surprise you!).
Finally, in today’s footnote: Thomas Takes the ICE Exam!
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Learning Resources, Inc. et al. v. Trump (2/20/2026)
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United States Postal Service v. Konan (2/24/2026)
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“The Postmaster,” William Shawn, The New Yorker (11/14/1970)(letter addressed to William Faulkner from Post Office Inspector Mark Webster)
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Memorandum Summary of Documents Newly Received from DHS Whistleblowers, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (2/23/2026)(with leaked ICE training documents attached)
Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | But I will be damned if I propose to be at the beck and call of every itinerant scoundrel who has two cents to invest in postage stamp. |
| 0:08.4 | This, sir, is my resignation. |
| 0:17.4 | In its own way, this is the most important decision of this kind about the structure of our government, really in our lifetimes. |
| 0:23.6 | It has been suggested that this is the biggest loss of president has ever taken at the Supreme Court, and I think it actually is. |
| 0:29.6 | Hello and welcome to opening arguments. This is episode 1239. I'm Thomas Smith. That over there is real life immigration attorney Matt Cameron. How you doing, Matt? |
| 0:46.5 | Hey, I'm doing good, Thomas, having a week and ready to talk about, I think what might be one of the most important Supreme Court cases of our lifetimes. |
| 0:53.4 | Wow. Right now. |
| 0:54.3 | Really? |
| 0:55.2 | Not to pump it up too much. |
| 0:56.4 | But, yeah, this tariff's case is huge. |
| 0:57.7 | It pretty much came down the way we said it was going to back in November, but we'll have to get into with it. Yeah. No kidding. Wow. I can't wait to get into it. Yeah. Once again, if the justices' wallets are at stake, then all of a sudden they remember how to do law stuff. |
| 1:11.2 | So that's cool. |
| 1:12.1 | Yeah, we're going to find out who they really work for because it's not Trump. Yeah, I mean, yes and no, you know. To a point. It's like, you know, some people have a side gig. Yeah. You know, it's like they got their main job, their day job, and then they got their side hustle, you kind of think. |
| 1:28.8 | Can I recommend podcasting? |
| 1:30.2 | It's a great side hustle. |
| 1:31.5 | Oh, God. |
| 1:32.4 | How close are we to Supreme Court Justice's Who podcast? |
| 1:37.3 | I'm just realizing. |
| 1:38.4 | Yeah, I shouldn't have said that. |
| 1:40.6 | That's not not happening. |
| 1:43.1 | Yeah. |
| 1:43.5 | We're somewhat close to that. We'll the the elitocast that's bad |
... |
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