AS THE Supreme Court wrapped up(结束，完成) its latest term, Donald Trump took stock(评估，总结). The president had suffered some conspicuous(显著的，引人注目的) defeats over the preceding months. In February, for example, the court struck down(推翻（裁决）) his “Liberation Day” tariffs, sending Mr Trump into a rage(使特朗普勃然大怒). More recently, it turned back(拒绝，阻止) a Republican bid to upend(颠覆，推翻) mail-in voting(邮寄投票) practices. And on June 30th it declared unconstitutional(宣布违宪) an executive order(行政命令) ending birthright citizenship(出生公民权) for babies born in America to parents who are there unlawfully or temporarily.
等最高法院结束其最新开庭期时，唐纳德·特朗普进行了盘算。总统在前几个月遭遇了一些显著的挫败。例如，2月份，法院推翻了他的“解放日”关税，令特朗普勃然大怒。最近，它又拒绝了共和党颠覆邮寄投票做法的企图。6月30日，它宣布一项终止出生公民权的行政命令违宪——该命令针对出生在美国、父母非法或临时居留的婴儿。
But on the whole(总体来说), the president seemed pleased with the court’s work. “The Republican Party was treated very fairly,” he wrote on social media. In the past week alone the court upheld(维持（原判）) bans on transgender athletes(跨性别运动员), loosened campaign-finance rules(放松竞选资金规则) and expanded presidential power. There is now speculation(猜测，推测) that Justice Samuel Alito, one of the court’s six conservatives, might step down(辞职，退休) this summer. If he does, Mr Trump—who appointed three justices in his first term—will have the opportunity to deepen his already substantial imprint(印记，影响) on the court.
但总体而言，总统似乎对法院的工作感到满意。“共和党受到了非常公平的对待，”他在社交媒体上写道。仅在过去一周，法院就维持了跨性别运动员禁令、放松了竞选资金规则并扩大了总统权力。现在有猜测认为，法院六位保守派大法官之一的塞缪尔·阿利托可能于今年夏天退休。如果他这样做，特朗普（在第一任期任命了三位大法官）将有机会加深他本已显著的法院印记。
No decision seemed to delight(使高兴) Mr Trump more than Trump v Slaughter(特朗普诉斯劳特案). For decades conservatives have argued that the constitution vests(赋予（权力）) all executive power in the president rather than giving some of it to semi-independent officials insulated from(与…隔离，免受) political control. On June 29th the court embraced that view(采纳了该观点). By a 6-3 vote it swept aside(轻易推翻) a 90-year-old precedent(先例), ruling that presidents may fire the commissioners(专员，委员) of independent agencies at will. Mr Trump hailed(赞扬，欢呼) the ruling as “the Greatest Increase in Presidential Power in the last 100 years”.
似乎没有哪个判决比特朗普诉斯劳特案更让特朗普高兴。几十年来，保守派一直主张宪法将所有行政权力赋予总统，而不是将一部分给予那些免受政治控制的半独立官员。6月29日，法院采纳了这一观点。它以6:3的投票结果推翻了长达90年的先例，裁定总统可以随意解雇独立机构的专员。特朗普称该裁决是“过去100年来总统权力的最大增长”。
Beyond birthright
超越出生权