Trump rulings due as Supreme Court's term nears its end

The US Supreme Court is expected to wrap up its current term in the coming days, with several major cases yet to be decided.

Three involve Donald Trump's far-reaching assertion of presidential powers, two are important election-related cases and one involves a crackdown by states on transgender athletes.

The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has seven disputes still to be resolved, and has set Monday as its next day to issue rulings.

Supreme Court terms begin in October and typically wrap up around the end of June, sometimes spilling over into early July.

The Trump cases centre on his moves last year to fire a member of the US Federal Reserve Board of Governors and a member of the Federal Trade Commission, and his executive order last year to limit birthright citizenship — three actions that test the boundaries of presidential powers.

The justices signalled skepticism during arguments in January toward Trump's bid to fire the Fed's Lisa Cook, a move that threatened the central bank's independence.

No other president has tried to fire a Fed official since its founding in 1913. In creating the Fed, Congress passed a law that included provisions meant to insulate it from political interference, requiring governors to be removed by a president only "for cause."

Trump cited unsubstantiated mortgage fraud allegations — denied by Cook — to justify the firing.

Cook, who has remained in the post while the case plays out, called the allegations a pretext to oust her over monetary policy differences.

But during arguments in December the conservative justices signalled they would uphold Trump's firing of Democratic Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter over policy differences even though lower courts ruled Trump exceeded his authority.

In the two election-related decisions due the conservative justices signalled skepticism during arguments in March toward a Mississippi law challenged by Republicans that permits a five-day grace period for mail-in ballots received after Election Day to be counted. That case could lead to stricter voting rules around the country.

The court also heard arguments in December in a Republican-led bid to strike down federal limits on spending by political parties in coordination with candidates in a case involving Vice President JD Vance.

Some of the conservative justices appeared sympathetic toward the challenge. The court's liberal members seemed inclined to preserve the restrictions.

In January, the court heard arguments over the legality of laws in Idaho and West Virginia banning transgender athletes from female sports teams at public schools including universities.

The conservative justices appeared ready to uphold the laws. The states said the measures preserve fair competition for women and girls. Critics see them as part of wider efforts to restrict the rights of transgender Americans.