Yup. I fully expected this court not to go along with the Trump nonsense, but I also absolutely expected them to start whittling away at any freedoms for Other People as soon as possible. Glad to see at least some restraint for the moment.
This might be a bullshit opinion, but I honestly feel people are at their worst when they are afraid of losing something. Power, money, status. Hell, I believe at least a quarter or more of the Republicans going along with Trump don't actually ideologically align with him. I bet most even hate his guts. They still fall in line because they are scared of what he can do to their continued power, money, and status in the GOP going forward.
The SCOTUS does not have to worry about that now. They don't have to put on any charades. As much as I feel some of them are going to make bad calls, there is no doubt in my mind that the "Conservative Hardliner" turns into more of a "Right Aligned Centrist" when they no longer have to "play the game."
I am not saying any of the new justices are actually that, but only that I could see it happen now that they are safety on the bench. We will have to go through way more court cases before I can feel confident in my opinion, but this and the former trans rights ruling lead by Gorsuch really makes me believe the Republicans didn't bring in the conservative wrecking balls they were hoping for.