Justice Kagan Says Conservative-Majority Court's Rulings Strain Democracy in Catholic University Talk

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan said recent rulings by the court's conservative majority are destabilizing American democracy and that the court is not working as well as it should. She spoke in a closed discussion with faculty and students at Catholic University's law school in Washington, D.C., alongside law professor Joel Alicea, a former clerk for Justice Samuel Alito. Kagan pointed to the 2019 Rucho v. Common Cause ruling, in which she dissented, as a starting point, and cited cases on gerrymandering and money in politics. The talk came weeks into the court's new term, when major cases on gun rights and state election integrity laws are expected, and less than two weeks before the midterm elections. President Donald Trump and Republican state lawmakers have pushed new congressional maps, and Democratic-led states have redrawn their own, prompting lawsuits.

Alternative outlets in this set did not mention Kagan's remarks; Reason ran a Supreme Court history item and The Dispatch a podcast on court orders, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and Third Circuit rulings. Left-leaning outlets had not reported the story at the time of writing. Right-leaning Fox News led with Kagan's remarks, while The Daily Signal published an opinion piece arguing she is wrong about democracy.