# Who are the grown-ups in Congress & SCOTUS? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 20, 2026, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628 "2026-03-20T19:25:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/1 "2026-03-20T19:25:44Z")
Continuing the discussion from [Who, if any, are the grown-ups still active in positions of power/responsibility in the federal government?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-if-any-are-the-grown-ups-still-active-in-positions-of-power-responsibility-in-the-federal-government/1028575/48): The OP of the linked thread excluded Congress & SCOTUS, so I’m opening a new thread here. I’m defining “grown-up” as: 1. a reasonably competent person who 2. has not drunk the Trumpian Kool-Aid, and is not pretending to do so, and crucially 3. is actively taking steps to deal with our unruly child President and his admin in a way that is MORE than politics as usual. So Democrats don’t count by virtue of being Democrats; liberal SCOTUS judges don’t count by virtue of their votes. They have to show signs that they recognize that we are in extraordinary times, and be doing something new or otherwise standing out. I’m particularly interested as I’m not living in the US and don’t see a lot of the day-to-day coverage. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/2 "2026-03-20T19:43:11Z")
Rand Paul. I disagree with most of his political positions. None the less, he was on point with his recent takedown of Markwayne Mullin, who Trump nominated for secretary of Homeland Security. His approach to Mullin during his recent Senate confirmation hearings shows that Paul hasn’t gone the way many other Republicans have. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/3 "2026-03-20T21:25:51Z")
SCOTUS Chief John Roberts. Sure, he’s conservative and he votes with Trump more often than not. But IMHO he will fight Trump against turning the Supreme Court into a complete rubber stamp. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/4 "2026-03-20T21:32:19Z")
I think he would / does if it comes down to his vote being the swing vote. But he’s not going to go down as the 4th vote in a bunch of 4-5 decisions in favor of Trump in cases where the swing vote is Gorsuch, Coney-Barret, or Kavanaugh. In those situations he’s more likely to make it 3-6 in favor of Trump, siding with the majority. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/5 "2026-03-20T22:22:33Z")
It seems to me that point 2 might be the hardest to distinguish. If someone agrees with a policy or position of the administration, I can see a lot of room for debate on whether they swallowed any Flavor-Aid\*. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/6 "2026-03-20T22:30:40Z")
Thomas Massie. I haven’t looked much into his personal politics and I’m sure they’re reprehensible, but he’s been doing the right thing in fighting to get the Epstein files out to the public. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/7 "2026-03-20T22:44:27Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > If someone agrees with a policy or position of the administration, I can see a lot of room for debate on whether they swallowed any Flavor-Aid\*. Yeah, that’s why I specified that it doesn’t matter why. Ascribing intent is challenging. But assume that if their actions by and large agree with the administration, they’re either fools or cynically using the situation for their own gain, but not being adults in the room. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/8 "2026-03-20T23:07:34Z")
So only Republicans or conservatives who don’t agree with the administration on _anything_ would be on this list? Or am I misunderstanding? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/9 "2026-03-21T00:06:35Z")
That isn’t what I meant. Let’s assume a sane, grown-up Republican: they’d still agree with a lot of the policies, and perhaps vote accordingly. But they’d push back against the breaking of norms and the flagrantly un-Constitutional actions, and they’d do this by calling out bad behavior in public, speaking out, apologizing for their side, etc. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/10 "2026-03-21T02:25:30Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > SCOTUS Chief John Roberts. Sure, he’s conservative and he votes with Trump more often than not. But IMHO he will fight Trump against turning the Supreme Court into a complete rubber stamp. I do not see it except to a tiny extent. He was against Trump picking a law to justify his tariffs when that law said nothing about tariffs. But Roberts believes in the general principle that Congress can delegate it’s constitutional powers such as taxation to the executive. He’ll be fine with Trump misusing another law, so long as it mentions tariffs. Roberts does not believe it is his job to protect and uphold the Constitution. He narrowly rules on cases. If Trump is the child and Roberts is the parent, Roberts is raising a spoiled brat. P.S. It is not just Roberts, or even the Roberts court. SCOTUS also allowed congress to delegate its constitutional powers to past presidents. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/11 "2026-03-21T02:43:31Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > But Roberts believes in the general principle that Congress can delegate it’s constitutional powers such as taxation to the executive. And yet when a Democratic president tries to do something that is explicitly provided for in a law, [Roberts claims](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biden_v._Nebraska) that is a “major question” and Congress cannot delegate that kind of power. It’s better to say that Roberts’s general principle is to bind Democratic presidents and [unleash Republican](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_v._United_States) ones. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/12 "2026-03-21T02:54:09Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > SCOTUS Chief John Roberts. Sure, he’s conservative and he votes with Trump more often than not. Somewhat. Same with Gorsuch. Both _real_ conservatives. Not MAGA. Of course Sotomayor, Kagan & Jackson. But most certainly NOT Thomas, Kavanaugh and Barrett. They not only drank the kool-aid, they asked for seconds. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/13 "2026-03-21T13:57:31Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But most certainly NOT Thomas, Kavanaugh and Barrett. They not only drank the kool-aid, they asked for seconds. I’d go with Alito rather than Coney-Barrett. From most adult like to childish, I’d go with four tiers. 1. Brown-Jackson, Kagan, and Sotomayor 2. Roberts 3. Gorsuch, Coney-Barrett, Kavanaugh 4. Thomas and Alito ETA: OK, maybe Kavanugh should be in tier 3B / 3.5, with Thomas and Alito in the one beneath that for the lowest tier. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/14 "2026-03-21T18:22:58Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Gorsuch, Coney-Barrett, Kavanaugh Gorsuch is a true conservative. Of course, we do not always agree with him. Coney-Barrett, & Kavanaugh were brought in as hit men for Roe. They are despicable. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/15 "2026-03-22T02:17:12Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > I think he would / does if it comes down to his vote being the swing vote. But he’s not going to go down as the 4th vote in a bunch of 4-5 decisions in favor of Trump in cases where the swing vote is Gorsuch, Coney-Barret, or Kavanaugh. In those situations he’s more likely to make it 3-6 in favor of Trump, siding with the majority. This is about John Roberts. It is not grownup to base legal judgments on this sort of politicking. He went along with the president as king argument and if he thinks this is good law he is a fool. The historian member of the Votemaster thinks Roberts is a candidate to displace Roger Tanny (of Dred Scott fame) as the worst chief justice of all time. As far as adults in congress, there are a few, but they have decided not to run for reelection. I’m not looking at Democrats since I cannot judge how they would be if the shoe was on the other foot. I do admire Bernie though, not so much for his current actions, but for his success as mayor of Burlington. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/16 "2026-03-22T02:49:13Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > He went along with the president as king argument No such thing. The ruling was that the _President has limited immunity for official acts._ ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/17 "2026-03-22T03:28:48Z")
Well, even that is quite contrary to the principles of the United States, where the president is first among equals, but equally subject to the rule of law. Trump has demonstrated that the president does not go to jail, even for felonies committed as a private citizen. A grown-up would have been ruling with more of an eye toward the future republic. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/18 "2026-03-22T03:56:32Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The ruling was that the _President has limited immunity for official acts._ Much more than that, as I understand it. The ruling was that the President not only has _absolute immunity_ for official acts that are exclusively the realm of the Executive’s authority (e.g., pardons, command of the military, execution of laws, and control of the executive branch), and at least _presumptive immunity_ for all other official acts. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/19 "2026-03-22T13:59:05Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > As far as adults in congress, there are a few, but they have decided not to run for reelection. I’m not looking at Democrats since I cannot judge how they would be if the shoe was on the other foot. I do admire Bernie though, not so much for his current actions, but for his success as mayor of Burlington. Agreed about Bernie. Back in 2016, I supported Hillary Clinton for Democratic nomination. I know that Clinton isn’t, say, Chuck Schumer or Dick Durbin, but her politics and manner of approaching being a senator were similar. Since 2016, I like Bernie’s approach a lot more than those of the “mainstream” Democratic senators like Schumer. So yes, I’d say Bernie is one of the adults in the room, even when compared to the mainstream Democratic senators. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2026, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628/20 "2026-05-07T00:27:51Z")
Oh, well, the public just doesn’t appreciate when the Court has to make the hard decisions. Or that’s what John Roberts would have us believe: > “I think at a very basic level, people think we’re making policy decisions, [that] we’re saying we think this is what things should be as opposed to this is what the law provides,” Roberts said. “I think they view us as truly political actors, which I don’t think is an accurate understanding of what we do. I would say that’s the main difficulty.” > **[Chief Justice John Roberts says American public wrongly views the justices as...](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/chief-justice-john-roberts-says-justices-are-not-political-actors-rcna343958)** > > In remarks at a judicial conference, Roberts bemoaned what he characterized as the American public’s misconceptions about the Supreme Court. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-the-grown-ups-in-congress-scotus/1028628.md?page=2)