It’s Supreme Court season, and the court had been on a roll handing victories to President Trump and his administration. Last week, the court in a 6-3 ideologically-split decision allowed the Trump administration to
end Temporary Protected Status, the program that allowed people whose countries were deemed unsafe because of war or natural disasters to live and work legally in the U.S. The same day, the justices allowed the Trump administration
to turn away migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border by physically stopping them from setting foot in the U.S. Plus, another 6-3 decision
overturned a Hawaii gun law, determining it violated the Second Amendment.
But today, two outcomes at the Supreme Court bucked that trend—and both happened to be cases featuring women. First, the Supreme Court
declined to take up an appeal from Trump over the $5 million he owes writer E. Jean Carroll, which he was ordered to pay after a jury in 2023 found he sexually abused and defamed her. Trump also owes Carroll an $83.3 million verdict, and Trump’s attempt to appeal that verdict could still head to the Supreme Court. The justices didn’t offer any explanation for why they declined to hear this case. For now, it’s a major victory for Carroll, after Trump attempted to
wield the power of the DOJ against her—and Trump now owes her more than $100 million, including interest.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision affirms once and for all the jury’s unanimous verdict that President Donald J. Trump sexually assaulted and defamed E. Jean Carroll,” her attorney Robbie Kaplan said. “His multiple efforts to appeal that verdict have all failed and today’s ruling ends his quest to avoid accountability for his actions.” Carroll herself sent out an edition of her Substack, where she simply wrote in all caps: “This win is for every woman in the world!” Reminder: there’s a great new documentary about E. Jean Carroll that and her fight against Trump (featuring her interview with me!) that
just came out.
But that’s not all. Also this morning, the Supreme Court
blocked Trump from firing Fed governor Lisa Cook, determining she was entitled to notice and an opportunity to respond to Trump’s claims (he has accused her of mortgage fraud). Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the liberals in a 5-4 decision. Roberts wrote that permitting Trump to fire Cook now “would allow the president to remove a member of the Federal Reserve at any time, for any reason, without any notice before, and without any judicial check after. That would turn for-cause protection into little more than at-will employment.”
But Cook’s victory came against a bigger backdrop: the court expanded presidential power, allowing Trump to fire heads of other independent federal agencies besides the Federal Reserve.
And the court’s decision on Cook allows Trump to try to fire her again. Already, Trump has fought back against both Cook and Carroll today. Of Carroll, he said, “I will continue the fight against this Weaponization and Lawfare Case against me, including the ridiculous claim of Defamation, with all of my power and strength.” Of Cook,
he wrote on Truth Social that his attempt was rejected on a “procedural” basis. “We will take appropriate action immediately to make sure that someone who has committed wrongdoing will not be making vital decisions concerning the Welfare of the United States of America!” he wrote.
These battles are not over for either Carroll or Cook. The two high-profile career women became favorite targets of Trump. Both stood strong through attacks that were not just consequential, but personal. And both came out on top today—and got the conservative-majority Supreme Court on their side where others could not.
Emma Hinchliffeemma.hinchliffe@fortune.comThe Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’
s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Subscribe here.
