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Leaked memos reveal how Supreme Court steamrolled Obama climate plan in 2016 showdown
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The Supreme Court’s emergency order blocking former President Barack Obama’s signature clean energy initiative in 2016 came after a series of leaked internal memos among the justices that revealed a fight along ideological lines about whether to intervene.
The rare glimpse at the high court’s internal memos, obtained by the New York Times, showed Chief Justice John Roberts, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, urging the Supreme Court to block Obama’s effort, while liberal justices pushed back.
Roberts and the court’s conservatives were concerned not just with Obama’s policy itself, but with the possibility that the Clean Power Plan could reshape the power sector before the justices could fully review whether it was lawful, the newly revealed memos show.
«Absent a stay, the Clean Power Plan will cause (and is causing) substantial and irreversible reordering of the domestic power sector before this court has an opportunity to review its legality,» Roberts wrote in one of the memos published by the New York Times on Friday.
JACKSON-KAVANAUGH TENSIONS SURFACE IN CANDID EXCHANGE OVER SUPREME COURT ‘SHADOW DOCKET’
(Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to the Supreme Court’s communications team Monday for comment on the leaks.
The push from Roberts came as the justices were considering what was viewed at the time as an unusual request on the emergency docket, sometimes called a «shadow docket,» from red states and outside groups to halt the Obama-era regulation, which aimed to cut carbon emissions over the next 25 years, before lower courts had fully weighed in, a step that the liberal justices warned would break from longstanding practice.
The emergency docket allows litigants to bypass typical court proceedings and seek immediate relief from the Supreme Court if lower courts block them through restraining orders or preliminary injunctions.
The Clean Power Plan would have involved the Obama Environmental Protection Agency regulating coal, oil and gas plants under the Clean Air Act. Roberts wrote that without the Supreme Court stepping in, «both the states and private industry will suffer irreparable harm from a rule that is — in my view — highly unlikely to survive.»
In another memo, Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama appointee, disagreed, saying «the unique nature of the relief sought in these applications gives me real pause.»
JONATHAN TURLEY: CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS COULD LEARN FROM BASEBALL GREAT TED WILLIAMS WHEN IT COMES TO LEAKS
Former President Barack Obama during a campaign event on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Justice Samuel Alito, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, circulated a memo the same day as Kagan in which he agreed with Roberts.
«A failure to stay this rule threatens to render our ability to provide meaningful judicial review — and by extension, our institutional legitimacy — a nullity,» Alito wrote.
Within a matter of days, the justices temporarily blocked Obama’s Clean Power Plan 5-4 along ideological lines, effectively dealing it a death blow because Democrats would lose the White House later that year. The New York Times noted that the Obama White House dismissed the ruling at the time as a small hurdle but that «behind closed doors, officials were astonished that the court had intervened so quickly.»
The back-and-forth in the memos during the short period of time, from the end of January 2016 to Feb. 9, when the brief decision was issued, showed how fast the justices moved to weigh in on a major presidential action.
Jonathan Turley, law professor at George Washington University, wrote in an op-ed that the anonymous leak of the memos to the New York Times, the second leak of confidential material after the Dobbs opinion leak in 2022, was «clearly designed to wound some of its members.»
«For an institution that prides itself on its confidentiality and insularity, the court is looking increasingly porous and partisan in these leaks,» Turley wrote.
KAGAN SCREAMED SO LOUDLY AT LIBERAL ALLY AFTER DOBBS LEAK THE ‘WALL WAS SHAKING,’ BOOK CLAIMS
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks to the 2025 Supreme Court Fellows Program, on February 13, 2025, at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. (JACQUELYN MARTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The New York Times’ report highlighted that legal experts have long viewed the Clean Power Plan decision as one of the first examples of the Supreme Court using the emergency docket in a way that limits executive power over national policy.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, has been among the most vocal dissenters in emergency cases during President Donald Trump’s second term as the president frequently benefits from the fast-paced docket. Jackson is sometimes joined by her two liberal colleagues, Kagan and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, in her dissents, and emergency cases have often split 6-3 in favor of Trump.
Last week, Jackson aired her grievances in a different forum, blasting emergency docket decisions during a Yale Law School speech as rushed, «scratch-paper musings» that undermine the high court’s purpose.
«Given the real world facts that a stay request asks the court to consider, the court’s stay decisions can, at times, come across utterly irrational,» Jackson said. «We cannot expect the public to have faith in our judicial system if, without clear explanation, we consistently greenlight harmful acts.»
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Legal experts have attributed the heightened activity on the emergency docket to a rise in presidents attempting to shape national policy through through executive orders.
«[An increase in emergency motions] coincides with the rise of executive orders and other forms of unilateral executive action really as the primary form of lawmaking in our country with the disappearance of Congress, and that has posed enormous challenges for the court,» attorney Kannon Shanmugam said during a Federalist Society panel last fall.
Fox News Digital reached out to Obama’s office for comment.
supreme court, federal judges, white house, environment regulation, climate
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Trump marks 80th birthday, now second octogenarian sitting president: ‘Seemed to utterly defy age’
Trump sets record with 22-specialist physical exam
Fox News senior medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel breaks down Trump’s recent physical, noting his heart health is comparable to someone 14 years younger. The record-setting 22-specialist examination results fuel debate on presidential health, ageism and transparency ahead of his 80th birthday.
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President Donald Trump turned 80 on Sunday, becoming only the second sitting U.S. president to reach octogenarian status in the Oval Office, leaving even his onetime political opponents marveling at his defying the effects of Father Time – even if his critics continue to share concerns they never had with the older former President Joe Biden, now 83.
«You don’t have to wish me a happy birthday, because I’m not happy about that birthday that I’m having,» Trump joked with Dr. Mehmet Oz, 66, in an Oval Office video shared Thursday on Instagram. «It’s a number I haven’t thought too much about.
«It’s not a number I like, but I’m here nevertheless.»
Trump’s White House is celebrating his keeping up the fight with an Ultimate Fighting Championship on the South Lawn.
TRUMP LOOKING FORWARD TO ATTENDING UFC WHITE HOUSE EVENT FEATURING ‘ALL TOP’ FIGHTERS
President Donald Trump has long hailed his cognitive abilities and is resurfacing the scoring on tests as he approaches his 80th birthday June 14. (Aaron Schwartz/Sipa/Bloomberg)
«At least to date, he has seemed to utterly defy age,» said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. The 55-year-old Cruz was a target of Trump’s political fire a decade ago on the opposite side of the Republican presidential primary race.
«I don’t know where he gets the energy that he displays, but he is up early in the morning and late at night,» Cruz added.
Trump, born June 14, 1946, in Queens, New York, crossed the threshold previously reached by Biden, who turned 80 in 2022 while serving in the White House. Trump was already the oldest president ever sworn into office when he began his second term in January 2025 at age 78.
RFK JR: DR OZ SAYS TRUMP HAS ‘HIGHEST TESTOSTERONE LEVEL’ HE’S SEEN IN A MAN OLDER THAN 70
Former President Joe Biden remains the oldest to serve as commander in chief, but President Donald Trump will surpass him by the end of his term in January 2028. Both have surpassed former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Dwight D. Eisenhower as the oldest siting presidents. ((Getty Images))
«He has gained in stamina as he has gotten older,» former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, 82, said recently.
Unlike Biden, whose age and mental acuity became a central political liability before he left office, Trump and his allies have repeatedly pointed to the president’s busy public schedule, frequent media appearances and hands-on governing style as evidence that he remains active and engaged.
Trump hailed his latest physical by White House Dr. Sean Barbabella declaring him to be in «exceptional» health and his cardiac age being «approximately 14 years younger than his chronological age.»
TRUMP DECLARED ‘FULLY FIT’ FOR ALL PRESIDENTIAL DUTIES AFTER ANNUAL PHYSICAL SHOWS ‘EXCELLENT HEALTH’
«They said I’m very healthy,» Trump told «Pod Force One with Miranda Devine» earlier this month, saying he has «an obligation» to give periodic cognitive reports on his mental acuity after Biden’s administration.
«I took a test and cognitive test and I got 100% on it. I got as the expression goes: I aced it. And the doctors told me it’s very, very few people can ace. That’s actually a tough test.»
Trump noted Biden was able to skirt potential prosecution for retention of classified documents because special counsel Robert Hur declared Biden to be a «sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.»
TRUMP PITCHES COGNITIVE TESTS FOR LEADERS, TAKES AIM AT HARRIS, WALZ, NEWSOM
«I have a great memory,» Trump told Devine. «Look, so far so good. I hope I’m going to keep it that way.
«If I don’t, you’ll be the first to know. You’ll say [after] this interview: ‘This isn’t the same Trump; I think he’s lost it.’»
The White House has also sought to bolster that message with medical updates. Trump’s physician said the president remains in «excellent health» and «fully fit» to carry out the duties of commander-in-chief.
«Unlike other U.S. Presidents, none of whom have ever taken an approved, high difficulty, Cognitive Test, I scored a perfect 30 out of 30, considered ‘extreme intelligence,’» the post began.
«Are the Dumocrats really surprised?»
WHITE HOUSE PROVIDES TRUMP HEALTH UPDATE AFTER MRI SCAN CONCERNS SWIRLED
Trump has long cast his stamina as a political asset, regularly contrasting his pace and public visibility with Biden’s more limited appearances during his presidency. Supporters say the difference is clear: Trump remains outspoken, combative and highly visible as he enters his ninth decade.
Some Democrats have seized on images of Trump’s bruising of his hand and with his eyes closed during meetings and lengthy Cabinet news conferences, which Trump has noted provide unprecedented transparency and access to the administration lasting up to three hours of live back-and-forth.
«That’s false: I’ve never seen him fall asleep,» Secretary of State Marco Rubio, 25 years Trump’s junior and another one-time target of Trump’s political opposition, told a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing this month.
WHITE HOUSE REPORTERS WENT FROM COVERING AN ‘INVISIBLE PRESIDENT’ BIDEN TO ‘OMNIPRESENT’ TRUMP: POLITICO
«On the contrary, the guy doesn’t sleep, which is a big problem because he calls me at 2 in the morning. He calls me at 5 in the morning. And, you know, I like to sleep a little bit, maybe not 12 hours, but at least six. So he works. The other day he was at the Oval Office until 12:30 a.m.
«I don’t know what you’re talking about.»
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., 74, rejected age getting in Trump’s way like it did for Biden, saying that «just because you’re 80 doesn’t mean you’re falling apart.»
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Trump’s birthday also arrives during a historically unusual stretch for America’s aging political class. Three baby boomer presidents — Trump, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush — all turn 80 in 2026. The latter two are long removed from active public service.
Trump is not looking to just rest after the UFC fight on the South Lawn on Sunday night. He plans to then travel early Monday to France for the annual G7 summit.
donald trump, white house, mehmet mz, joe biden, brain health
INTERNACIONAL
Estados Unidos: Donald Trump celebra sus 80 años en la Casa Blanca con un espectáculo de peleas de artes marciales de UFC
Una ruptura drástica respecto al 80 cumpleaños del presidente anterior
“Pan y circo”, al estilo Trump
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Israel fears Trump weary of ‘highly suspicious’ Netanyahu and could ‘flip’ amid Iran deal: analyst
Trump calls out Netanyahu over Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets
Rising Middle East tensions threaten President Donald Trump’s push for an Iran peace deal. Fox News details military pressure on Iran, including US strikes and a naval blockade, alongside Israel’s recent strikes on Hezbollah in Beirut. Discussions center on proposed deal terms, verification mechanisms, and skepticism about Iran’s commitment.
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A regional analyst says fears that President Donald Trump could «flip» on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid a critical push for a U.S.-Iran peace agreement are growing in Jerusalem, a concern highlighted Sunday after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) struck Beirut for a second time.
Despite U.S. warnings that any strikes would derail a breakthrough with Tehran, the strikes came as Netanyahu prepared to convene Israel’s Security Cabinet and after Trump announced a new U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding (MOU) was expected to be signed imminently.
«The strikes today in Beirut are creating issues with finalizing the deal,» a diplomat involved in the talks with Tehran told Fox News Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst, adding that they were «a clear attempt by Israel to sabotage the president’s deal and drag the United States back into war.»
Trump went on to condemn Israel’s strikes in a post on Truth Social, also telling Axios that Netanyahu had «no f—ing judgment.»
WHY TRUMP KEEPS FLIPPING ON IRAN: A PRESIDENT WHO SEES THE WORLD AS HE WANTS IT TO BE
President Donald Trump welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Dec. 29, 2025. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Natan Sachs, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, noted there was «absolutely this fear in the Israeli government,» calling it «a rational and healthy fear» over the pending deal.
He said a strategic chasm existed between the two allies, contrasting Netanyahu’s doctrine of sustained, long-term military pressure with Trump’s pursuit of immediate diplomatic victories.
«Now there is a sense in Israel that Trump may be growing weary of Netanyahu and the Israelis, and many others believe that if he got sick and tired of him, he could break norms in other directions and flip on Israel,» Sachs, an Israeli foreign policy expert, told Fox News Digital.
With discussions underway through Pakistani mediation, the Israeli prime minister’s office released a statement shortly after Trump announced the possible deal with Tehran on June 11.
Jerusalem «is not a party to the memorandum of understanding» between Washington and Tehran, Netanyahu said before reiterating on June 12 that Iran was «working to destroy the Jewish state.» He assured Israelis he had dedicated his life to «preventing them from doing so.»
On Sunday, a senior Israeli official also said Hezbollah attacks had targeted Israeli civilians for the previous three days as Israel prepared for Iranian retaliation.
NETANYAHU DECLARES ISRAEL ‘WILL EXACT THE FULL PRICE’ AFTER IRANIAN STRIKE HITS HOSPITAL IN ISRAEL
President Trump’s push for a U.S.-Iran deal is fueling concern in Jerusalem that he could turn on Netanyahu as Israeli strikes in Beirut threaten to complicate negotiations. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Trump had already criticized Netanyahu during a phone call earlier this month, reportedly calling him «crazy» over a first strike on Beirut that was complicating the administration’s negotiations with Iran.
«It’s not just that there seems to be a crisis — and there were clearly expletives used by the president toward the prime minister on the backdrop of a joint and large military operation,» Sachs said.
«Israel and Netanyahu had first looked at Trump and saw both enormous carrots and enormous potential sticks,» Sachs said of the start of Operation Epic Fury and Roaring Lion on Feb. 28.
«Trump was a huge opportunity for Netanyahu because he was willing to break the mold on anything, but Israel has made a potentially strategic, historic mistake in putting all its eggs in one basket,» he added.
«Netanyahu was always prepared for the long haul,» Sachs said. «And the long haul is not four months; the long haul is years. Trump likes quick wins. Once the quick win did not materialize — and it did not — now you have a whole new set of problems.»
«Trump’s preference seemed far from pursuing a much broader campaign aimed at achieving the goals that Israel prefers, and he also has a much narrower conception of what a deal would be,» he added.
TRUMP MEETS NETANYAHU, SAYS HE WANTS IRAN DEAL BUT REMINDS TEHRAN OF ‘MIDNIGHT HAMMER’ OPERATION
Lebanese civil defense workers search for victims in the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, Lebanon, on April 9, 2026. (Hassan Ammar/AP)
Sachs noted, however, that Trump and Netanyahu broadly shared goals on curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions, eliminating Hezbollah’s armed presence in Lebanon and establishing a post-Hamas future for Gaza.
But he said, «having that wish list is not the same as having a strategic goal. They haven’t both committed to them as strategic goals that dictate concerted action going forward.»
Sachs also argued that tensions between Trump and Netanyahu reflect different temperaments.
«Netanyahu thinks of himself as a strategic thinker — very able, and of course, he has a very high opinion of himself — but he is completely different,» he observed.
«Netanyahu is an erudite, well-educated, patient, highly suspicious and extremely pessimistic man by nature. His self-image is more, ‘I have thought everything through in ways you could not, because I’m smarter than you.’
«He’s very suspicious of everyone around him, and he’s been surrounded by this same coterie of individuals for decades.»
«In terms of personality and where they come from, their worldview is also actually very different,» Sachs added.
«You can’t imagine Netanyahu spending hours at night on social media. He doesn’t go on it himself, and it’s hard to imagine President Trump spending hours reading books, which Netanyahu likes to portray himself as doing. I doubt he has time for it, but that is an image he projects, and I think it is partially true.»
«Netanyahu also believes you live with a problem, you manage it, and you kick the can down the road. Trump is the opposite.»
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«The U.S. may turn away and be uninterested; Israel simply does not think it has that privilege,» Sachs said.
«Netanyahu and Trump have very different time horizons, and that is partly geography and interest — and partly personality.»
donald trump, benjamin netanyahu, middle east foreign policy, treaties, israel
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