Supreme Court will test Trump's limits during 'most consequential term': legal expert

A legal expert Thursday warned that Supreme Court rulings in 2026 will test President Donald Trump's limits of power.

Mike Leon, Anchor of the Legal Podcast Network, told CNN that two cases could be most consequential: Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook. The Slaughter case could redefine the limits of presidential power over independent agencies and give the Trump more authority to fire officials. This month, the court will hear arguments for the Cook case, involving Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to allow Trump to fire Cook immediately, and has allowed her to stay in office, while the high court's hearing remains pending.

"This is the most consequential term, probably for the court on dockets and cases," Leon said.

The Cook case ruling slated for Jan. 21 expected to have legal impacts beyond just the Federal Reserve — and how future presidents will influence federal agencies.

"So the president has talked about where he where he fired that commissioner. And then obviously the lower courts, I think, ruled that she had to be reinstated back," Leon said.

"So where does the executive branch's power lie versus where it's something where the president is told, no, you can't do that. That is outside of your jurisdiction," he added. "This is another case that will set the precedent, I think, going forward for future presidents on how they delegate and how they hire people in some of these roles, and how these agencies function. I mean, keep me honest here, at least I think it's the core issue as you're seeing the core through line, through some of these cases that are going to be before the Supreme Court."