The court issued a 6-3 decision on Friday declaring that Colorado entrepreneur Lorie Smith, the owner of the company 303 Creative, could refuse to provide websites for same-sex couples as the business expanded into providing wedding services. The six conservative justices held that, despite a Colorado law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, the creation of a wedding website is an example of an “expressive” good, and refusing to do so based on religious beliefs is therefore covered by the first amendment protection of free speech. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissenting opinion that because of the ruling “the Court, for the first time in its history, grants a business open to the public a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class.”

In the second major conservative-leaning ruling Friday, the six conservative justices declared Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan unconstitutional. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing the majority opinion, held that the massive Biden forgiveness plan — which proposed forgiving amounts up to $10,000 or $20,000 for millions of qualified applicants — was beyond the scope of the president to implement. Biden had argued that the powers given to the president to pause student loans, which began during the Trump administration, also gave him the power to forgive these amounts; the court, however, ruled that such a multibillion-dollar plan needed congressional approval. Although Biden has objected to the court’s ruling and vowed to find other ways to aid student borrowers, millions of whom had already signed up for his now-banned forgiveness program, the court’s decision is a significant defeat for one of Biden’s major policy proposals.

Both Friday rulings were made by the six justices who were appointed by Republican presidents, including three that were appointed under then-President Donald Trump. This conservative majority has mostly issued rulings in line with the Republican agenda, including repealing Roe v. Wade and banning affirmative action in college admissions. These latest rulings will further bolster the conservative political agenda and motivate liberals who seek to reform the court in light of its conservative drift and ethics scandals.

Given the massive impact that the Supreme Court’s rulings are having across the nation, these decisions will only add to the political polarization and competition that have been at the forefront of public life in the country.