As legal glare turns to Trump, his faith in Supreme Court may be tested

Trump has viewed the court, whose 5-4 conservative majority includes two justices he appointed, as friendly territory, unlike certain lower courts and individual judges he has publicly criticized after ending up on the wrong side of rulings. The Supreme Court already has given the Republican president victories on some pivotal policies including upholding his travel ban targeting people from several Muslim-majority countries.

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But as the focus of some of the major legal challenges shifts from his policies to Trump himself, there could be disappointments in store for him, according to some legal experts, in particular if the Supreme Court stoutly defends the ability of Congress to pursue investigations of the president.

The conservative justices “won’t feel any loyalty to Trump, but will instead support strong separation of powers” as delineated in the U.S. Constitution assigning specific roles to the government’s executive, legislative and judicial branches, said conservative legal scholar J.W. Verret, an expert in corporate and securities law at George Mason University in Virginia.

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