The Supreme Court has delayed direct conflict with Trump, but history suggests that will soon change

President Donald Trump's love affair with the Supreme Court could turn sour in the new year.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and the Supreme Court’s smooth relationship could turn sour in the new year.

The court’s 6-3 conservative majority mostly avoided direct confrontations with Trump in 2025 while handing him a series of wins, but it pushed rulings on a series of contentious White House proposals into this year. And there are signs the court could hand the president at least one major defeat.

Heading into 2026, the court is set to rule on Trump’s plan to curtail automatic birthright citizenship, his sweeping tariffs and his attempt to fire a member of the Federal Reserve’s powerful board of governors.

In all three cases, the justices could have acted sooner, but the Supreme Court has a long history of waiting until a president has lost some of his post-election power and popularity before delivering major legal losses.

“The court is not confronting the president head-on until spring this year,” said Richard Pildes, a professor at New York University School of Law. “That’s very different in terms of his political strength.”