Feliciano v. Department of Transportation (2025) was decided 5–4, making it, by definition, one of the most contentious cases of that term. When the military calls reservists to active duty “during a national emergency,” Congress has agreed to pay the difference between the reservists’ civilian and military salaries. The question for the Court was whether the reservists are owed the money if they were called up during a national emergency or only if they were called up because of the national emergency.
Justice Gorsuch wrote for the majority, joined by Chief Justice Roberts, Sotomayor, Kavanaugh, and Barrett. Justice Thomas wrote for the dissenters, with Alito, Kagan, and Jackson. It was an odd lineup, with liberal and conservative justices on both sides. Justice Gorsuch thought Congress didn’t intend for reservists to have to prove their service was substantively connected to some particular emergency. Justice Thomas thought Congress did.
