Why do presidents reference executive actions in their public commentary on Supreme Court cases? We contend that presidents are motivated by their policy and reelection goals to respond strategically through executive action on Court cases that they address publicly. Presidents who tie their executive actions to Court cases may add legitimacy to those actions, thereby bolstering their policy choices in the eyes of the public, Congress, and the Court. We examine the factors shaping presidents’ decisions to tie their executive actions to Court cases using a novel database covering the Eisenhower to Biden presidencies (1953–2024). We find that the president’s ideological proximity to the Court, agreement with the Court’s decisions, and approval ratings are especially important factors. These findings contribute the literatures on executive action, the separation of powers, and the public presidency providing new insight into how presidents leverage Court decisions to justify executive actions to achieve their goals.
AndersonDwight G.1988. “Power, Rhetoric, and the State: A Theory of Presidential Legitimacy.” Review of Politics50 (2): 198–214.
3.
BallingrudGordon. 2022. “The President and the Supreme Court: The Effect of the Prospect of Non-implementation on Government Success in the Court.” Political Science Quarterly137 (2): 357–79.
4.
BelcoMichelleRottinghausBrandon. 2017. The Dual Executive: Unilateral Orders in a Separated and Shared Power System. Stanford University Press.
5.
BlackRyan C.OwensRyan J.. 2012. The Solicitor General and the United States Supreme Court: Executive Branch Influence and Judicial Decisions. Cambridge University Press.
6.
BlackstoneBethanyGoelzhauserGreg. 2014. “Presidential Rhetoric Toward the Supreme Court.” Judicature97: 179–87.
7.
BrüderlJosefLudwigVolker. 2015. “Fixed-Effects Panel Regression.” In The Sage Handbook of Regression Analysis and Causal Inference, edited by BestHenningWolfChristof. Sage.
8.
CollinsPaulEshbaugh-SohaMatthew. 2026. “Replication Data for: “Presidential References to Executive Actions in Public Comments on Supreme Court Cases”.” https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/T7YZPN, Harvard Dataverse, V1, UNF:6:p5+tbB0/FrPfCBdzk7iHIA== [fileUNF].
9.
ChiouFang-YiRothenbergLawrence S.. 2017. The Enigma of Presidential Power: Parties, Policies and Strategic Uses of Unilateral Action. Cambridge University Press.
10.
ChristensonDino P.KrinerDouglas L.. 2020. The Myth of the Imperial Presidency. University of Chicago Press.
11.
CollinsTodd A.CooperChristoper A.. 2011. “Case Salience and Media Coverage of Supreme Court Decisions: Toward a New Measure: Toward a New Measure.” Political Research Quarterly65 (2).
12.
CollinsPaul M.Jr.Eshbaugh-SohaMatthew. 2019. The President and the Supreme Court: Going Public on Judicial Decisions from Washington to Trump. Cambridge University Press.
13.
CollinsPaul M.Jr.Eshbaugh-SohaMatthew. 2022. “The Supreme Court, the President, and Congress.” Journal of Law and Courts10: 213–37.
14.
CooperPhillip J.2002. By Order of the President: The Use and Abuse of Executive Direct Action. University Press of Kansas.
15.
CooperPhillip J.2005. “George W. Bush, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Use and Abuse of Presidential Signing Statements.” Presidential Studies Quarterly35: 515–32.
16.
CotaMatthew T.HoustonRachael B.LaneElizabeth A.SchoenherrJessica A.. 2024. All the News That’s Fit to Not Print: Changing of Covering the United States Supreme Court. Typescript.
17.
DeeringChristoper J.MaltzmanForrest. 1999. “The Politics of Executive Orders: Legislative Constraints on Presidential Power.” Political Research Quarterly52: 767–83.
HowellWilliam G.2003. Power Without Persuasion: The Politics of Direct Presidential Action. Princeton University Press.
26.
JohnsonTimothy R.RobertsJason M.. 2004. “Presidential Capital and the Supreme Court Confirmation Process.” The Journal of Politics66: 663–83.
27.
KelleyChristopherMarshallBryan W.. 2008. “The Last Word: Presidential Power and the Role of Signing Statements.” Presidential Studies Quarterly38: 248–67.
28.
KelleyChristopher S.MarshallBryan W.. 2010. “Going it Alone: The Politics of Presidential Signing Statements from Reagan to Bush II.” Social Science Quarterly91: 168–87.
29.
KernellSamuel. 1997. Going Public: New Strategies of Presidential Leadership. 3rd ed.CQ Press.
30.
KomatsuTimCollinsPaul M.Jr. 2025. “The Consistency of Federalist Society-Affiliated U.S. Supreme Court Justices.” PLoS One20 (8): e0329692.
31.
LowandeKenneth S.2024. False Front: The Failed Promise of Presidential Power in a Polarized Age. University of Chicago Press.
32.
LowandeKenneth S.RogowksiJon C.. 2021. “Presidential Unilateral Power.” Annual Review of Political Science24: 21–43.
33.
MayerKenneth R.2001. With the Stroke of a Pen: Executive Orders and Presidential Power. Princeton University Press.
34.
MoeTerry M.HowellWilliam G.. 1999. “Unilateral Action and Presidential Power: A Theory.” Presidential Studies Quarterly29: 850–73.
35.
MontgomeryMatthew D.RogolNatalie C.KingslandJustin T.. 2019. “Presidential Rhetoric and US Supreme Court Rulings: The Effect of Going Public on Citizen Evaluations of Institutions and Policy.” Presidential Studies Quarterly49: 870–97.
36.
NicholsonChrisCollinsPaul M.Jr. 2008. “The Solicitor General’s Amicus Curiae Strategies in the Supreme Court.” American Politics Research36 (3): 382–415.
37.
OstranderIanSievertJoel. 2013. “What’s so Sinister About Presidential Signing Statements?” Presidential Studies Quarterly43: 58–80.
38.
PyleChristopher H.PiousRichard M., eds. 1984. The President, Congress, and the Constitution: Power and Legitimacy in American Politics. The Free Press.
39.
ReevesAndrewRogowskiJon C.. 2022. No Blank Check: The Origins and Consequences of Public Antipathy Towards Presidential Power. Cambridge University Press.
40.
RogolNatalieMontgomeryMatthew. 2021. “When the Potted Plants are Missing: How Justice Attendance at the State of the Union Influences the Solicitor General.” The Social Science Journal2021: 1–19.
41.
RogolNatalie C.MontgomeryMatthew D.KingslandJustin T.. 2018. “Going Public: Presidential Impact on Supreme Court Decision-making.” Justice System Journal39: 210–27.
42.
RottinghausBrandonMaierJason. 2007. “The Power of Decree: Presidential Use of Executive Proclamations, 1977-2005.” Political Research Quarterly60: 338–43.
43.
RushMark. 2018. “The Law: Presidential Signing Statements and Coordinate Constitutional Interpretation.” Presidential Studies Quarterly48: 168–82.
44.
SchoenherrJessica A.WaterburyNicholas W.. 2022. “Confessions at the Supreme Court: Judicial Response to Solicitor General Error.” Journal of Law and Courts10 (1): 13–36.
45.
ScottJamil S.LaneElizabeth A.SchoenherrJessica A.. 2025. “You Better Shop Around: Litigant Characteristics and Support for Supreme Court Decisions.” The Journal of Politics87 (3): 1012–27.
46.
SievertJoelOstranderIan. 2017. “Constraining Presidential Ambition: Controversy and the Decline of Signing Statements.” Presidential Studies Quarterly47: 752–76.
ThrowerSharece. 2017. “The President, the Court, and Policy Implementation.” Presidential Studies Quarterly47: 122–45.
49.
ThrowerSharece. 2019. “Presidential Action and the Supreme Court: The Case of Signing Statements.” Journal of Theoretical Politics31: 677–98.
50.
WarberAdam L.2006. Executive Orders and the Modern Presidency: Legislating from the Oval Office. Lynne Rienner.
51.
WhitfordAndrew B.2012. “Signing Statements as Bargaining Outcomes: Evidence from the Administration of George W. Bush.” Presidential Studies Quarterly42: 343–62.
52.
YatesJeff. 2002. Popular Justice: Presidential Prestige and Executive Success in the Supreme Court. State University of New York Press.
53.
YatesJeffWhitfordAndrew B.. 1998. “Presidential Power and the US Supreme Court.” Political Research Quarterly51: 539–50.
