# What if Trump says he has fired SCOTUS Justices who voted against him? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [February 20, 2026, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855 "2026-02-20T17:31:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/1 "2026-02-20T17:31:49Z")
Continuing the discussion from [Trump Tariffs Struck Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-tariffs-struck-down/1018927/118): How would it play now that the Court has struck down the Trump tariffs he announces Roberts, Barrett, Kagan, Jackson and Sotomayor are fired and he announces they have been replaced? I’m imagining Aileen Cannon, Emil Bove, Todd Blanche, Alina Habba and Lindsey Halligan would be viewed as appropriately loyal to get the nod. I imagine DJT saying Alito is the new Chief Justice and instructing Bondi to have the Marshall’s service bar entry to the court building to the 5 “fired” Justices. Yes, Majority Leader Thune and a few other Senators would squawk (I imagine Susan Collins would be concerned) but I don’t see much they can do other than file a lawsuit in Federal Court. I’m not seeing what would happen once it worked through appeals and got back to SCOTUS. Certainly all the lower Federal Courts and Appellate branches would strike it down but what then if it is ignored by the newly “appointed” Justices once it gets back to SCOTUS. And the House would do not a damn thing. Speaker Johnson will not allow any impeachment resolution to get to a vote and I doubt much of the MAGA members would be in favor of it. I assume if the House flips in the midterms something would be done but I don’t see much happening before then. PLEASE NOT - I realize this is totally illegal but nothing has really stopped stopped DJT from pulling a lot of other illegal actions. If you are only here to argue it “can’t happen” I would ask you to refrain from participating in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/2 "2026-02-20T17:37:30Z")
This is literally a coup. Asking what happens next is like asking what happens if aliens land. All answers will be pulled out of asses. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/3 "2026-02-20T17:39:34Z")
Senate would probably refuse to approve any Trump SCOTUS nominees from that point. Then you have a 4-person Supreme Court. And then all lower courts and numerous state governments, etc. would begin openly flouting SCOTUS, seeing it as totally illegitimate now. At least, that’s my WAG. Trump pulling this sort of move would not give him an ultra-powerful 4-0 majority on the Supreme Court, it would basically cause him and America to have no Supreme Court at all. The 4 remaining robe-clad justices would soon have no more power than you or me. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/4 "2026-02-20T17:40:48Z")
Agreed, it would be a coup. I don’t see any other part of the government that would have the power to stop it though, unless the military intervened. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/5 "2026-02-20T17:42:22Z")
SCOTUS justices must be confirmed by the Senate, and can only be removed by impeachment. If POTUS decides “no they don’t” then you have a plainly illegal act. If the House refuses to impeach, then you have a coup. The only remedy to a coup is a counter-coup where some other group (military, perhaps) declares that Trump is no longer the President and Person X is. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/6 "2026-02-20T17:44:34Z")
I acknowledge the Senate would never go along with this but in my hypothetical I imagine DJT saying the only thing required is for him to appoint them. I easily see the 4 toadies left on the Court and the new appointees going along and acting as if it is normal. I agree it would cause a lot of conflict with the States about the legitimacy of this new “Court”. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/7 "2026-02-20T17:45:23Z")
Yeah, if Trump were to go that far, it would be clear that he isn’t leaving office unless violently forced to. So there would be a coup, a civil war, or possibly an unstable situation in which there’s no actual fighting or formal secessions, but blue States simply start ignoring orders from the Federal government. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/8 "2026-02-20T17:46:53Z")
A plainly illegal act by this President would be nothing new. I said in the OP this would be illegal but I honestly don’t seeing anything that would stop DJT. Removal would require action by branches of Congress or the Cabinet that I seriously don’t see happening. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/9 "2026-02-20T17:51:23Z")
I think Trump’s more likely to follow through on Roosevelt’s plan and add more “loyal” justices to give him a safe majority. That way he can face down any protests by saying it was originally a Democratic plan. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/10 "2026-02-20T17:51:48Z")
You answered your own what if. Where are we supposed to go now? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/11 "2026-02-20T17:53:07Z")
Aren’t there enough actual shenanigans from the current administration to focus on? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/12 "2026-02-20T17:53:27Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > At least, that’s my WAG. Trump pulling this sort of move would not give him an ultra-powerful 4-0 majority on the Supreme Court, it would basically cause him and America to have no Supreme Court at all. The 4 remaining robe-clad justices would soon have no more power than you or me. And that would work to his advantage. Win/win. BTW, if Supreme Court Justices came in one day to see new people in their offices, who would Congress send over to kick the newbies out, how long would it take to do this…and would it happen at all? ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/13 "2026-02-20T17:56:11Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > A plainly illegal act by this President would be nothing new. I know this gets repeated a lot, and plenty of things have been struck down by various Courts as violating either federal law or the Constitution (or both), but I can’t think of anything Trump has done that prima facie contradicts fundamental, unquestioned Constitutional doctrine. Things like birthright citizenship at least have the veneer of controversy around them. Even his tariffs were at least questionable until SCOTUS finally weighed in on what is and is not an “emergency”. It’s like saying “what if the King disbands parliament?”. He can’t. If he does it’s a constitutional crisis and some extra-constitutional means will have to end it. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/14 "2026-02-20T17:57:48Z")
And then what? Do you actually think attorneys would file writs of certiorari with this new Supreme Court, or that the lower courts would even recognize its authority? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/15 "2026-02-20T17:58:48Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > but I can’t think of anything Trump has done that prima facie contradicts fundamental, unquestioned Constitutional doctrine. January 6th insurrection comes to mind. And blowing up innocent civilians in boats. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/16 "2026-02-20T17:59:02Z")
In what way do the lower courts have a say in the makeup of the SCOTUS? Has a lower court ever decided that an otherwise eligible case cannot be taken to the Supreme Court? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/17 "2026-02-20T18:00:01Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > …I can’t think of anything Trump has done that prima facie contradicts fundamental, unquestioned Constitutional doctrine. - Violations of the Emoluments Clause - Violations of the Appropriations Clause - Violations of the First Amendment - Violations of the Fifth Amendment (Due Process and Equal Protection) - Abuse of the Appointment Clause There might be more but that seems more than enough. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/18 "2026-02-20T18:01:53Z")
All of which are questionable…_if_ the perpetrator questions it. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/19 "2026-02-20T18:02:09Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > A plainly illegal act by this President would be nothing new. I said in the OP this would be illegal but I honestly don’t seeing anything that would stop DJT. Removal would require action by branches of Congress or the Cabinet that I seriously don’t see happening. Yeah. Trump has been casually breaking the law for years, and nothing is done about it. Going by what has happened in the past I’d expect a lot of wailing about how it’s _bad_ and _illegal_ and _unacceptable;_ and then everyone just goes along with it. Just like they have with everything else he’s done. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855/20 "2026-02-20T18:09:17Z")
For one thing I doubt the “removed” Justices would just walk away. But I don’t really see what recourse they would have to fight this, particularly if they were prevented from entering the Court building. Because of the childish and unstable nature of DJT this has been on my mind for a while. Today’s ruling and a comment by another poster in the Trump Tarriff thread prompted me to start this thread. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-trump-says-he-has-fired-scotus-justices-who-voted-against-him/1027855.md?page=2)