In recent years, the supreme court has trended toward empowering level(s) of government.

They have trended toward empowering the states. With many decisions, the SCOTUS has found that there are protections in the 5th and 14th amendments, for example, that give more leeway to the states in determining proper directions to take. Also, with concepts like the Full Faith and Credit clause in the Constitution, the courts have seen that there is a need for states to view legislation passed in other locations as fully valid, instead of trying to find ways to undercut them.