Supreme Court steps on the gas with new term

Thank you for signing up!

Subscribe to more newsletters here

It’s Monday. And your 12:30 Report authors ask that you please refrain from searching for us on Venmo.

Supreme Court term begins with a bang

Trump-Cotton feud escalates

Midterms just 30 days away

Programming note: Hello! We are Elliott Davis and Steff Danielle Thomas filling in for Cate. Please send your tips, comments and story ideas to edavis@thehill.com or sthomas@thehill.com.

Supreme Court term kicks off:

The Associated Press | J. Scott Applewhite

The Supreme Court’s new term is officially underway, after oral arguments began Monday morning in a major climate case that pits state and local governments against fossil fuel companies over the costs of climate change.

Boulder, Colo., sued ExxonMobil and Suncor Energy Inc. years ago, accusing the two energy giants of deceiving people over the harms of fossil fuels and costing the city money as a result.

💬Follow today’s live blog.

Justice Samuel Alito recused himself from the case last week with no explanation. But the associate justice has otherwise spoken up in some rare media appearances in recent days.

On Sunday, Alito told Fox News that he tries not to pay too much attention to President Trump’s praise of him, and he added that he hopes his colleagues do the same when the shoe is on the other foot.

The president told Time magazine in an interview last week that he regrets nominating conservative Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, saying they vote against him “too often” in Supreme Court orders and rulings. Trump, however, frequently commends Alito, recently referring to him and Justice Clarence Thomas as “legends.”

The Supreme Court’s term is starting on shaky ground with Trump, as its docket has been filling up with cases that are key to the president’s agenda amid his criticisms of several justices, The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld and Sophie Brams report.

🔎Read more: Supreme Court opens new term with shaky Trump relationship 

In the same “Fox News Sunday” interview, Alito said he has an “opinion” on who leaked the draft opinion of justices overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, but he declined to elaborate. He also told CBS News last week that he considered retirement at the end of the court’s last term.

➤ JUSTICES PASS ON OTHER CASES:

In other news tied to the high court Monday, the justices declined to take up cases about a school ban on shirts emblazoned with a slogan mocking former President Biden, an appeal from the convicted NXIVM sex cult leader and an attempt by the........

© The Hill