Zach Schonfeld

The Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to issue massive fines violated AT&T’s and Verizon’s constitutional right to a jury trial. It’s the latest Supreme Court case to take aim at federal agencies’ regulatory power. The case is expected to be argued near the end of this term, which would enable it to be decided by summer 2026. The FCC ordered AT&T to pay roughly $57 million. Verizon’s fine amounted to nearly $47 million.

Less than a month before the U.S. presidential election, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued an unprecedented statement denouncing the then-Republican nominee. “[Donald] Trump has insulted and vilified the press and has made his opposition to the media a centerpiece of his campaign,” said the committee, a New York-based organization that promotes press freedom. “A Trump presidency would represent a threat to press freedom in the United States.” With little more than two months before Trump takes the oath of office, the threat to the media—and the public’s right to know—is reality. However, President-elect Trump may find a thicket of laws and Supreme Court precedents limit his maneuvering—slight comfort for those working to protect a free press.