Trump's powers in spotlight as SCOTUS term looms

A newsletter by Reuters and Westlaw

By Sara Merken

What's going on today?

REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to scrutinize presidential powers in major cases during its new term opening on Monday, including the legality of President Trump's tariffs and his move to fire officials from the Federal Reserve and another agency set up by Congress with safeguards against political interference.

As is its custom, the court starts its nine-month term on the first Monday of October, with rulings coming by the end of June in the various cases due to be argued. The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has moved American law dramatically rightward under John Roberts, who has now served as U.S. chief justice for two decades.

The court is set to hear disputes involving culture war issues such as race, gay "conversion therapy" and transgender sports participation. Another case concerns election finance restrictions challenged by Trump's Vice President JD Vance. Read more.

Plus, here is a look at some of the top cases due to be argued during the court's upcoming term.

REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

The largest-ever buyout in the U.S. rail sector and the largest leveraged buyout in history helped propel Wachtell to the top of the London Stock Exchange Group's rankings of principal M&A legal advisers.

New York-based Wachtell was the top principal adviser by deal value in LSEG's rankings for the first nine months of 2025, working on 75 global announced deals worth a combined $461 billion.

Worldwide M&A activity hit $3 trillion during the first nine months of the year, a 33% increase compared to the same period last year, LSEG found. But the volume of deals continues to drop – nearly 37,000 deals were announced, a 7% decrease compared to the same period last year. LSEG called 2025 so far the strongest period ever recorded for "mega deals" – transactions worth more than $10 billion.

Read more about which other law firms topped the rankings from my colleague David Thomas. 

Democrats in the U.S. Congress have rallied around healthcare as their top policy issue in a government shutdown standoff with President Trump's Republicans … The Trump administration froze $2.1 billion in Chicago transit funding … The Church of England named Sarah Mullally as the next Archbishop of Canterbury, the first woman to serve as ceremonial head of Anglican Christianity worldwide … The Israeli military intercepted the last boat in an aid flotilla attempting to reach blockaded Gaza. Plus, scores of Bollywood AI videos vanished from YouTube after a Reuters story.

sara.merken@thomsonreuters.com

@saramerken

The Afternoon Docket is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here.

Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here.

This email includes limited tracking for Reuters to understand whether you've engaged with its contents. For more information on how we process your personal information and your rights, please see our Privacy Statement.

Terms & Conditions