The U.S. Supreme Court has made several important decisions during its summer break, using what is known as the "shadow docket." This process allows the court to issue rulings without detailed explanations or public voting records, often in urgent or time-sensitive cases. These decisions have covered a range of issues, including White House construction, congressional redistricting, and voting regulations. On August 31, the court permitted continued construction of a ballroom at the White House. Then, on September 10, it blocked Missouri from implementing a new congressional map drawn by the state’s Republican-led legislature, which had been requested by former President Donald Trump. On September 14, the court halted the U.S. Postal Service from introducing new rules that would have affected mail-in voting—a move that had been supported by the Trump administration. Just a month earlier, the court had said it was too soon for states to challenge those proposed rules. Since July, every decision made by the Supreme Court has been issued through the shadow docket. This pattern will continue until the court reconvenes for its new term on October 5. The use of the shadow docket has raised questions about transparency and the influence of political considerations in the court’s decisions. Legal experts have observed that the rulings on the shadow docket have generally favored former President Trump, although he has not won every case. For example, the decision blocking the U.S. Postal Service’s new voting rules did not satisfy Trump. In a post on Truth Social, his social media platform, Trump criticized the justices he had nominated, stating that they “are not the people I interviewed to serve.”