An overriding question going into the session that began last October was whether Roberts would still wield significant control, after former President Donald Trump appointed Barrett to succeed the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and created a 6-3 conservative-liberal bench.
But the latest developments suggest a possible 3-3-3 pattern, with Roberts, Barrett and Kavanaugh at the center-right, putting a check on their more conservative brethren who regularly push to overturn precedent.
The trio were part of majorities that rejected yet another challenge to the 2010 Affordable Care Act and took only a small step -- over complaints from other conservatives -- in favor of a religious entities that would discriminate against LGBTQ individuals.
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