Good morning.
When interviewing Clarence Thomas in his Supreme Court chambers in 2007, I asked him about an illustration on his wall that depicted a Black man slumped over a desk. He told me it was a gift from a friend who “thought it captured my life…the exhaustion.” When asked what kind of exhaustion, he said: “Everything. Mental. Physical. Spiritual. Just constant change. You just want to slow down. You see people take a walk and you want to, too.” I wasn’t sure if I was witnessing burnout or someone having a bad day.
I thought of that when Thomas was the lone dissenter in Friday’s court ruling that upheld the government’s right to disarm domestic abusers. It was one of many important decisions so far on topics ranging from taxes and unions to abortion pills and Donald Trump’s eligibility to run for office. But there’s also an unusually large number of key decisions still left to drop as the Supreme Court enters the final days of its term, including on business topics like social-media controls and the use of bankruptcy court to shield against civil liability claims. That’s led some to wonder if the nine justices are working efficiently and getting along.
Thomas, now the oldest and longest-serving justice, doesn’t seem to be much happier at work, facing ethics scandals and questions over his wife’s role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. He’s complained about being underpaid, called Washington a “hideous place,” and described the 2022 leak of a draft opinion in the court’s abortion ruling as an “infidelity” that undermined his trust in the institution. He’s not alone; the Pew Institute has found public faith in the Supreme Court to be at historic lows.
Does it matter that we’re no longer in an era when a liberal like Ruth Bader Ginsburg could spar with conservative Antonin Scalia by day and hit the opera with him at night? Should we care whether Sonia Sotomayor, who’s diabetic, might have worried when Neil Gorsuch declined to wear a mask during COVID? (She worked remote that day.) Do acrimonious nomination hearings in the Senate dent spirits on the bench? Has Chief Justice John Roberts embraced efforts to hold the court accountable or blocked them? Should any employment contract run until death? Do you have to be happy to be good at your job?
Existential questions, perhaps, but ones I’ve pondered when examining the output of an institution dealing with significant reputational damage. When a friend of mine was appointed to Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice, she viewed it as an honor and a position of trust. She still feels that way. When I asked Thomas about the critical impact of his work in that 2007 interview, he said: “I don’t think you should do these jobs with that in mind. I don’t think you should relish affecting people’s lives like that, because you don’t know whether you have the right answers.” To him, maybe it’s just another job.
More news below.
Diane Brady
diane.brady@fortune.com
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TOP NEWS
Andreessen Horowitz plans a new business
Venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z, is planning to raise its first private equity fund, according to disclosures filed at the end of March. The documents do not reveal a launch date, or whether the fund will invest directly in companies or invest in other PE funds. Still, PE would be a new business for a16z, which made its name investing in early-stage tech companies. Fortune
MEI misses the point
“Merit, excellence and intelligence,” the new buzzword from anti-DEI business leaders like Elon Musk, is based on a misunderstanding of how meritocracy and diversity relate to each other, experts say. While both DEI and “MEI” agree on the need to cast a wide net for talent, academics note that a public push for an objective meritocracy, in practice, hurts women and people of color. Fortune
Boeing’s bid for Spirit
Boeing is proposing buying its Spirit AeroSystems through a deal funded by stock, rather than cash, sources say. One discussed deal would have Boeing pay $4 billion for two-thirds of Spirit’s business; the supplier will need to remove the parts of its operations that supply Boeing’s arch-rival, Airbus. Boeing believes that buying Spirit—itself spun off from Boeing two decades ago—will help improve safety and manufacturing for its jets. Wall Street Journal
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
Meet 7 Fortune 500 CFOs under 40 by Sheryl Estrada
This year’s IPO market got off to a roaring start. Now some fear it’s out of gas by Luisa Beltran
Google Shopping’s new exec spent 15 years at Amazon: Here’s his plan to hijack Prime Day by Jason Del Rey
Why Walmart broke up with Capital One—and the dark horse bank set to benefit by Michael Del Castillo
Gen Z workers think showing up 10 minutes late to work is as good as being on time—but baby boomer bosses have zero tolerance for tardiness, research reveals by Orianna Rosa Royle
Linda Yaccarino’s right-hand man out at X as global operations chief reportedly given the sack by Christiaan Hetzner
This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.
