Supreme Court·Oral argument

Supreme Court hears Nielsen v. Watanabe today on whether federal officials can be sued for damages

Published 6:00 AM CT, Monday, November 9, 2026 · Updated 6:07 AM CT
In the 6 AM CT update

The Supreme Court's Monday, Nov. 9 argument calendar lists Nielsen v. Watanabe (No. 25-417), with Hoffmann v. WBI Energy Transmission (No. 25-159) to follow. Federal prisoner Kekai Watanabe says a prison paramedic, Francis Nielsen, denied him adequate care for a fractured tailbone; the Trump administration supports Nielsen, and SCOTUSblog reports Nielsen asks the Court to limit or overrule Bivens. No ruling is expected from today's argument; a decision will come later in the term.

• Supreme Court
• Nielsen v. Watanabe
• Bivens
• federal prisons
• Eighth Amendment
• Solicitor General
• Hoffmann v. WBI Energy
• oral argument
• Carlson v. Green
• separation of powers