Lindsay Whitehurst, Author at The Rapid City Post

President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with Polish President Karol Nawrocki in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump asks Supreme Court to quickly take up tariffs case and reverse ruling finding them illegal

September 3, 2025

The Trump administration is taking the fight over tariffs to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to rule quickly that the president has the power to impose sweeping import taxes under federal law. In an appeal filed late Wednesday, the government called on the court to reverse an appeals court ruling that most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs were illegal under an emergency powers law. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit left the tariffs in place for now. The administration nevertheless called on the high court to intervene quickly, arguing the ruling is harming trade negotiations and international relations.

President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Trump’s administration again appeals to the Supreme Court over his foreign aid funding freeze

August 27, 2025

President Donald Trump’s administration is appealing to the Supreme Court again in its bid to keep billions of dollars in foreign aid funding frozen. The Justice Department asked for quick intervention Wednesday to halt lower court decisions keeping the money flowing, including for global health and HIV and AIDS programs. The justices rebuffed the Trump administration in the case earlier this year. The Republican administration says the funding at issue includes about $12 billion that would need to be spent by Sept. 30 if the lower court orders stand. Trump has portrayed the foreign aid as wasteful spending that does not align with his foreign policy goals.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks as President Donald Trump listens at an event to promote his proposal to improve Americans' access to their medical records in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Supreme Court lets Trump administration cut $783 million of research funding in anti-DEI push

August 21, 2025

The Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to slash hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of research funding in its push to cut federal diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. In a split decision Thursday, the high court lifted a judge’s order blocking $783 million worth of cuts made by the National Institutes of Health to align with Republican President Donald Trump’s priorities. The order marks the latest Supreme Court win for Trump and allows the administration to forge ahead with canceling hundreds of grants while the lawsuit continues to unfold. The high court did keep the Trump administration anti-DEI guidance on future funding blocked, however.

FILE - National Guard troops and the U.S. Capitol Police keep watch as heightened security remains in effect around the Capitol grounds in Washington, March 3, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Trump’s moves toward taking over Washington are unprecedented. Here’s what the law says

August 11, 2025

President Donald Trump took unprecedented steps toward federalizing Washington, D.C., saying it’s needed to fight crime even as city leaders pointed to data showing violence is down. He took command of the police department and deployed the National Guard under laws that give the federal government more power over the nation’s capital. The Home Rule Act of 1973 gave residents the power to elect a city council and mayor in 1973, though the measure still left significant power to the federal government. It lets the president deploy the National Guard and temporarily take over the police department, but a further takeover would require an act of Congress.

A demonstrator waves a flag during a protest in reaction to recent immigration raids on Friday, July 11, 2025, in Oxnard, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Trump administration asks high court to lift restrictions on Southern California immigration stops

August 7, 2025

The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to lift a court order restricting immigration stops that swept up at least two U.S. citizens in Southern California. The emergency petition comes after an appeals court refused to lift the temporary restraining order restricting what factors authorities can use to make stops and arrests. The judge found there was a “mountain of evidence” that federal immigration enforcement tactics were violating the Constitution. The Trump administration has argued that her order hinders their enforcement of immigration law and asked the justices to immediately halt it.

FILE - A healthcare worker prepares a shot of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in La Paz, Bolivia, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)

Trump administration appeals to Supreme Court to allow $783 million research-funding cuts

July 24, 2025

The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to allow it to cut hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of research funding in its push to roll back federal diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. The Justice Department argued Thursday that the National Institutes of Health can make the $783 million worth of cuts to align with President Donald Trump’s priorities and a federal judge in Massachusetts was wrong to block them. U.S. District Judge William Young found the cancellations ignored long-held government rules and standards and amounted to discrimination. The case addresses only a fraction of the cuts to NIH research projects, but the appeal also pushes back more broadly against rulings restoring grant funding.

FILE - The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Supreme Court to consider reviving evangelist’s lawsuit over restrictions in small Mississippi town

July 3, 2025

The Supreme Court will consider whether to revive a lawsuit from a man barred from evangelizing outside a small-town Mississippi amphitheater after authorities say he shouted insults at people over a loudspeaker. Gabriel Olivier says restricting him from public property violated his religious and free speech rights, but a legal Catch-22 has barred him from challenging law in court. The city of Brandon, Mississippi says it took steps to bar Olivier and his group from harassing people over a loudspeaker and allowed him to preach from a designated protest zone away from the amphitheater. The court is expected to hear arguments in the fall.

Supreme Court preserves key part of Obamacare coverage requirements

June 27, 2025

The Supreme Court has preserved a key part of the Affordable Care Act’s preventive health care coverage requirements, rejecting a challenge from Christian employers to the provision that affects 150 million Americans. Friday’s ruling comes in a Texas case over how the government decides which health care medications and services must be fully covered by private insurance under President Barack Obama’s signature law. The plaintiffs said the process is unconstitutional because a volunteer board of medical experts tasked with recommending which services are covered isn’t Senate approved. President Donald Trump’s administration defended the mandate, though the president has criticized his Democratic predecessor’s law. The Justice Department said board members don’t need Senate approval.

FILE - A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer listens during a briefing, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to clear the way for a South Sudan-bound deportation flight

June 24, 2025

President Donald Trump’s administration is asking the Supreme Court to clear the way for a deportation flight of several immigrants to South Sudan, a war-ravaged country where they have no ties. Tuesday’s motion comes a day after the justices allowed immigration officials to restart quick deportations to third countries. The justices halted a lower-court order that had allowed migrants to challenge removals to countries where they could be in danger. Judge Brian Murphy in Boston nevertheless found the deportation flight diverted to Djibouti in May couldn’t immediately resume its path to South Sudan since the Republican administration had not appealed that order. The Trump administration calls the judge’s finding “a lawless act of defiance.”

Supreme Court allows Trump to restart swift deportation of migrants away from their home countries

June 23, 2025

A judge says a deportation fight originally bound for South Sudan won’t be completing the trip right away even after a divided Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to start swiftly deporting immigrants to countries they aren’t from. Judge Brian Murphy found Monday that an order remains in force for those immigrants because the Supreme Court only halted his previous, broader order. The Department of Homeland Security, though, suggested other deportations to third countries could begin again soon. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority halted a decision from Murphy that requires immigrants get a chance to challenge any deportations to third countries where they might be in serious danger.

FILE - The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill, Feb. 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Supreme Court rejects toy company’s push for a quick decision on Trump’s tariffs

June 20, 2025

The Supreme Court has rejected a push from an Illinois toy company asking for a quick decision on the legality of President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Learning Resources Inc. had asked the justices to take up the case soon, rather than let it continue to play out in lower courts. The company argues that the tariffs are having a significant impact and that the issue requires swift attention. Trump has framed the tariffs as a tool to strike more favorable trade deals and lure back factories. The justices on Friday didn’t explain their reasoning, but the Supreme Court is typically reluctant to take up cases before lower courts have decided.

FILE - The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill, Feb. 27, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)

Supreme Court widens court options for vaping companies pushing back against FDA rules

June 20, 2025

The Supreme Court is siding with e-cigarette companies in a ruling that’ll make it easier to sue over Food and Drug Administration decisions blocking their products from the multibillion-dollar vaping market. Friday’s opinion comes as companies push back against a yearslong federal regulatory crackdown on electronic cigarettes. It’s expected to give the companies more control over which judges hear lawsuits filed against the agency. R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co. is based in North Carolina but sued in Texas, where other businesses affected by the FDA decisions are located. The justices ruled the other way on vaping in April, upholding a ban on most sweet-flavored vapes instituted after a spike in youth vaping.

FILE - Rick Woldenberg, CEO of Learning Resources, an educational toy company whose products are manufactured in China, stands at a warehouse in Vernon Hills, Ill., April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

Toy company challenges Trump’s tariffs before the Supreme Court in long shot bid for quick decision

June 17, 2025

An Illinois toy company is challenging Donald Trump’s tariffs at the Supreme Court. Learning Resources Inc. filed an appeal asking the Supreme Court to take up the case soon rather than let it continue to play out in lower courts. The company argues the president illegally imposed tariffs under an emergency powers law rather than getting approval from Congress. An appeals court has allowed Trump to continue collecting tariffs ahead of arguments in July. The company says tariffs and uncertainty are taking a major toll. The Trump administration says the emergency powers law gives him the authority to regulate imports during national emergencies and would win if the high court does decide to take up the case.

FILE - The Supreme Court is seen in Washington, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Supreme Court agrees to hear appeal from New Jersey faith-based pregnancy center

June 16, 2025

The Supreme Court will hear from a faith-based pregnancy center in New Jersey challenging a state investigation into whether it misled people into thinking its services included referrals for abortion. The justices Monday agreed to consider an appeal from First Choice Women’s Resource Centers, which wants to block a subpoena from Democratic New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin seeking information about donors, advertisements and medical personnel. Platkin says First Choice won’t answer questions about its operations. First Choice challenged the subpoena in federal court, but a judge found the case wasn’t far enough along to weigh in. An appeals court agreed. First Choice says it’s looking forward to presenting its case to the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court win for girl with epilepsy expected to make disability lawsuits against schools easier

June 12, 2025

A teenage girl with a rare form of epilepsy has won a unanimous Supreme Court ruling that’s expected to make it easier for families of children with disabilities to sue schools over access to education. Thursday’s ruling comes after her family said her Minnesota school district didn’t do enough to get her the disability accommodations she needs to learn. The girl and her family appealed to the Supreme Court after lower courts ruled against their disability discrimination case. Some courts had been holding schools to a different legal standard. The Osseo Area Schools district has argued changing the standard could expose understaffed schools to more lawsuits even when they’re making good faith efforts.

Migrants and ICE officers contend with heat, smog and illness after detoured South Sudan flight

June 6, 2025

The Trump administration says migrants placed on a deportation flight originally bound for South Sudan are now being held in a converted shipping container on a U.S. naval base in Djibouti, where the men and their guards are contending with baking hot temperatures, smoke from nearby burn pits and the looming threat of rocket attacks. Officials outlined grim conditions in court documents filed Thursday before a federal judge overseeing a lawsuit challenging Immigration and Customs Enforcement efforts to swiftly remove migrants to countries they didn’t come from. The judge in Boston found the Republican administration violated his order by swiftly sending eight migrants from countries including Cuba and Vietnam to East Africa.

Supreme Court tosses Mexico’s $10B lawsuit claiming US gunmakers have fueled cartel violence

June 5, 2025

The Supreme Court is tossing out a $10 billion lawsuit Mexico filed against top U.S. firearm manufacturers alleging the companies fuel cartel gun violence. The unanimous Thursday ruling comes under U.S. laws that largely shield gunmakers from lawsuits. Mexico has strict gun laws, but thousands of guns are smuggled in by the country’s drug cartels annually. The National Shooting Sports Foundation calls the ruling “a tremendous victory for the firearm industry.” Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it strongly disagreed with the decision and President Claudia Sheinbaum pointed to a second suit the country filed in Arizona.

Protesters and security stand in front of Delaney Hall, a recently re-opened immigration detention center, in Newark, N.J., Wednesday, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Supreme Court to hear private prison company appeal in suit over immigration detainee $1-a-day wages

June 2, 2025

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from a private prison company facing a lawsuit claiming immigration detainees were forced to work and paid a $1 a day in Colorado. The high court took up the case Monday. The GEO Group appealed to the high court after a judge refused to toss out the 2014 lawsuit. The company says the lawsuits are really a back door way to push back against federal immigration policy and its pay rates are in line with Immigration and Customs Enforcement regulations. They say the immigrants can’t sue because they’re running the facilities on behalf of the government, which is immune from such lawsuits.

Chief Justice agrees to pause court orders requiring DOGE to turn over records about its operation

May 23, 2025

Chief Justice John Roberts is agreeing to temporarily pause orders that would require Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to publicly disclose information about its operations. The order came after the Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court in a lawsuit filed against DOGE by a government watchdog group. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington argues the team led by the billionaire entrepreneur has been central to President Donald Trump’s push to remake the government and must be subject to the Freedom of Information Act. But the government argues it is just a presidential advisory body that is exempt from requests for documents under FOIA.

Lindsay Whitehurst.