Why has the Trump administration lost an unprecedented number of federal court cases in the past two years? And what do those losses in lower courts say about the president's approach to governance and the rising role of the Supreme Court today?

ThinkProgress justice editor Ian Millhiser joined Salon's Amanda Marcotte on "Salon Talks," to offer his analysis on the state of the courts and why he says partisanship in the Supreme Court is heading toward "disturbing places."

"When cases that we've won because of Trump's incompetence have reached the Supreme Court in the past, they often haven't gone very well. The most prominent example of this is the Muslim ban case," Millhiser pointed out.

While the Supreme Court has always succumbed to political pressures, such as upholding Japanese internment camps during World War II and segregation, Millhiser emphasizes that today's justices make up the most "partisan" Supreme Court ever.

"Now is the first time in American history where you have a block of four members of the court, all appointed by Republican, who form a coherent conversvative block that tends to vote together." Millhiser warned. "When people start grouping as partisans, they start acting together as partisans, instead of thinking independently."

Watch the video above to hear Millhiser's full analysis on how the Supreme Court became so partisan, and where more liberal lower courts fit into the overall equation on federal cases. And watch part two of Millhiser's interview to learn about how Republicans could build a stronghold in the Senate indefinitely.