Alan Kanner: Dispatch from the future

On March 1, 2027, The New York Times reported that Chief Justice Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was recently confirmed after the mysterious death of John Roberts, has ruled in the majority opinion that the 22nd Amendment has been repealed, arguing that the amendment posed a threat to the national security of the country. The court’s majority opinion concurred with the petition presented by Attorney General Jim Jordan, who argued that the 22nd Amendment no longer served any useful function. As a result of the Supreme Court decision, President Donald Trump is now permitted to run for a third term. In response to the more than 30 governors who claimed that the repeal of any U.S. amendment was the sole jurisdiction of the states, the court argued that the 22nd Amendment was unique in its federal overreach and therefore it is the Supreme Court — not the U.S. Congress nor the states — that is best suited to interpret the legality of the amendment.

In a shocking concurring opinion, Justices Alito and Thomas wrote that while president Trump remains in office the Constitution itself is unconstitutional because it too severely limits the authority of President Trump. Echoing an earlier decision by the Supreme Court in 2000, in the Bush vs Gore case, Justices Alito and Thomas wrote that their stipulation regarding the unconstitutionality of the Constitution applies only while President Trump is in office and does not extend to any future presidents.

Many Americans have been deeply concerned about the direction of the Supreme Court after a series of cases in which the court affirmed the petitions presented by Secretary of the Interior Ted Cruz to return all Native American lands to the federal government and by Secretary of Education Ron DeSantis that all public schools would be required to have one-quarter of the school curriculum based solely on Christian theology.

Given the concerns about possible public outrage to the most recent Supreme Court decision, Secretary of Defense Matt Gaetz told the nation that the U.S. military, as a preemptive measure, would be discharged into several of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas to secure the safety of all Americans rather than the National Guard because the National Guard was too weak to manage the task.

Alan Kanner

Amherst