Ever since Chief Justice John Roberts swore in Donald Trump at the US Capitol January 20 – with the eight other Supreme Court justices looking on – the question has been whether they would restrain a president who vowed to upend the constitutional order.

The White House and a close circle of lawyers plan for Trump to hit the ground running if there's a Supreme Court vacancy, sources tell TIME.

The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to allow it to cut hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of research funding in its push to roll back federal diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.