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The Liberal Justices Aren’t as United as You Might Think

The Supreme Court’s liberal minority has voted, over and over again, to oppose the court’s conservative majority in what might look like a united front of resistance. But behind the scenes, there are growing tensions between those liberal justices over the best way to mitigate the rightward lurch of the court. Jodi Kantor, who uncovered the story, explains what she found.
Duration
36m
Broadcast on
10 Dec 2025
Audio Format
other

The Supreme Court’s liberal minority has voted, over and over again, to oppose the court’s conservative majority in what might look like a united front of resistance. But behind the scenes, there are growing tensions between those liberal justices over the best way to mitigate the rightward lurch of the court.

Jodi Kantor, who uncovered the story, explains what she found.

Guest: Jodi Kantor, a New York Times reporter whose job is to carefully uncover secrets and illuminate how power operates.

Background reading: 

  • Read about the debate dividing the Supreme Court’s liberal justices.

Photo: Fred Schilling/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States, via Associated Press

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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This podcast is supported by TikTok. Sometimes the most interesting discoveries are the ones you weren't looking for. That happens every day on TikTok. A science experiment can spark a whole new interest. A recipe you stumble upon can become a meal you make for the people you love. And a restaurant you've never heard of might become your new favorite spot. That's the thing about TikTok. Follow your curiosity and see where it leads. Your next discovery is waiting on TikTok. From New York Times, I'm Michael Bobaro. This is The Daily. Today, over the past few years, members of the Supreme Court's Liberal Minority have voted over and over again to oppose the Court's conservative majority, offering what might look like a united front of resistance. But behind the scenes, my colleague, Jody Cantor, has uncovered growing tensions between those liberal justices over the best way to fight back. It's Wednesday, December 10th.
Jody. Michael. Good to have you back in the studio. Great to be back with you. You are very well along in a line of reporting that, in my estimation, has pulled back the curtain on the unseen decision-making that goes on among the nine justices of the Supreme Court at a hugely consequential moment for the Court. Yes, we want to understand not only the legal decisions they're making, but we're asking, who are these nine people who hold this much power and how do they function together as a body? How do they influence one another? How does power flow inside the Supreme Court? And we're doing it at a time when the Court is deciding these major questions about how much power President Trump will have. Who can he fire? He go around Congress to defund an agency. Can he end birthright citizenship? What is going to happen to his tariffs program? The Court is literally looking into almost all those questions. They're determining the contours of his power and the liberal justices, who, as you know, are badly outnumbered. See President Trump as a threat to the constitutional order, and they want to persuade their conservative colleagues

Transcription truncated.

The Supreme Court’s liberal minority has voted, over and over again, to oppose the court’s conservative majority in what might look like a united front of resistance. But behind the scenes, there are growing tensions between those liberal justices over the best way to mitigate the rightward lurch of the court. Jodi Kantor, who uncovered the story, explains what she found.