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Justice Elena Kagan has long pursued quiet persuasion, even scrubbing sharp lines from a draft dissent in the student loan case, while Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson has embraced blistering dissents and extended questioning, warning of favoritism toward moneyed interests. Their contrasting styles—joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s alarms—have fueled friction within the shrunken liberal bloc and with conservatives, notably Amy Coney Barrett. As the court grants Donald J. Trump temporary wins and prepares high‑stakes disputes, Kagan’s restraint yields occasional narrow victories, yet she now faces whether to speak more bluntly.

Prepared by Lauren Mitchell and reviewed by editorial team.