Supreme Court takes 'go-slow' approach on divisive issues as the rest of Washington reels

A blockbuster abortion case is apparently on hold. A series of gun rights challenges never made it to the lineup. High-profile questions posed by Donald Trump’s presidency are beginning to fade into irrelevance.

As the Supreme Court returns to work Friday after a three-week recess and crosses the midpoint of its term, the cases on deck are far from the type that would give the new 6-3 conservative majority a chance to assert itself in the nation’s most divisive controversies.

By design or by luck, the court’s nine justices are...