How the Supreme Court could redefine presidential power in 2026

Here & Now Anytime

NPR

News

4.1 • 953 Ratings

🗓️ 29 December 2025

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Next year, the Supreme Court is expected to issue consequential rulings on President Trump's most controversial policies, including his ability to issue tariffs without congressional approval and fire a member of the Federal Reserve. Law professor Barbara McQuade explains more.

Then, the Trump administration is suing 21 states and Washington, D.C., to hand over detailed voter data, citing efforts to ensure election security. Loyola Law School professor Justin Levitt details the implications.

And, we catalogue NPR staff recommendations from their annual “Books We Love” list, which, this year, contains mainly fiction picks.

To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for here and now anytime comes from MathWorks, creator of MATLAB and Simulink software for technical computing and model-based design.
0:09.2	MathWorks accelerating the pace of discovery in engineering and science. Learn more at MathWorks.com.
0:17.5	WBUR Podcasts, Boston.
0:22.5	You're asking us to infer this based on the Constitution structure,
0:27.5	and I don't know why we'd make that inference
0:29.3	when the power to create agencies and set everything up lies with Congress.
0:34.9	The Supreme Court has a high-stakes year ahead of them
0:38.0	as they rule on cases that could reshape presidential power.
0:50.2	It's Monday, December 29th,
0:52.1	and this is here and now anytime from NPR and WBUR Boston.
0:56.7	I'm Shiko Tha Uri.
0:59.0	Today on the show, the DOJ suing nearly two dozen states to force them to turn over their voter
1:05.0	registration files. And it's time to relax into the new year, curl up on the couch with a great book recommended by NPR staffers.
1:13.6	This is not a book you're going to get over easily. It's razor sharp and designed to cut you deeply.
1:19.6	You'll be moved. You'll probably cry. And by the end, you'll say something like,
1:24.5	thank you for delivering my suffering so beautifully.
1:28.3	But first, this year, lower courts played a significant role in checking President Trump's
1:33.6	power on issues such as immigration. In 26, the stakes are a bit higher. That's because the Supreme
1:40.5	Court will issue final verdicts on just how far the president's power stretches
1:45.0	over the economy and independent agencies.
1:48.7	Justices will also weigh in on hot-button issues such as transgender rights.
1:54.0	Barbara McQuaid is a former federal prosecutor who teaches at the University of Michigan Law School.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from NPR, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of NPR and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.