WASHINGTON: Angry over the crush of court rulings against the Trump administration, Republicans in Congress are trying to slap back at the federal judiciary with proposals to limit the reach of its rulings, cut funding and even impeach judges, tightening the GOP\u2019s grip on government.
\nHouse GOP leaders say all options are under consideration as they rush to rein in judges who are halting President Donald Trump\u2019s actions at a rapid pace. In many cases, the courts are questioning whether the firings of federal workers, freezing of federal funds and shuttering of long-running federal offices are unlawful actions by the executive branch and Elon Musk\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency.
\nIn perhaps the most high-profile case, Judge James E. Boasberg ordered planeloads of deported immigrants to be turned around, raising the ire of Trump, who called for his impeachment, and billionaire Musk, who is funneling campaign cash to House Republicans backing impeachment efforts. The president calls the judges \u201clunatics.\u201d
\nHouse Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that \u201cdesperate times call for desperate measures\u201d without mentioning impeachment.
\n\u201cWe do have authority over the federal courts, as you know,\u201d the Republican speaker said. \u201cWe can eliminate an entire district court. We have power of funding over the courts, and all these other things.\u201d
\nNot yet 100 days into the new administration, the unusual attack on the federal judiciary is the start of what is expected to be a protracted battle between the co-equal branches of government, unmatched in modern memory. As the White House tests the judiciary, trying to bend it to Trump\u2019s demands, the Congress, controlled by the president\u2019s own Republican Party, appears ready to back him up.
\nIt all comes as the Supreme Court last summer granted the executive broad immunity from prosecution, setting the stage for the challenges to come. But Chief Justice John Roberts warned more recently that \u201cimpeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision.\u201d
\nDemocrats are warning against what they view as an assault on the judicial branch, which so far has been the only check against Trump and DOGE\u2019s far-reaching federal actions. Threats against the federal judges, already on the rise, remain of high concern.
\n\u201cIt is outrageous to even think of defunding the courts,\u201d said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, reacting to the House speaker\u2019s claims. \u201cThe courts are the bulwark against Trump, and the Republicans can\u2019t stand it.\u201d
\nHouse GOP leaders met Tuesday with Rep. Jim Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which will hold a hearing on the issue next week. The House is also expected to vote on a bill from Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., that would limit the geographic reach of certain federal rulings, to prevent temporary restraining orders from being enacted nationwide.
\nJordan said he also spoke Saturday with Trump during college wrestling championships in Philadelphia.
\n\u201cAll options are on the table,\u201d Jordan said late Monday. \u201cWe want to get the facts. Gather the facts.\u201d
\nSince Trump took office, and with Musk, on a mission to dramatically reduce the size and scope of the federal government, the administration\u2019s tech-inspired move-fast-and-break-things ethos has run up against the constraints of federal law.
\nAn onslaught of court cases has been filed by employee groups, democracy organizations and advocacy groups trying to keep federal programs \u2014 from the US Agency for International Development to the Education Department \u2014 from being dismantled.
\nJudges have issued various types of restraints on Trump\u2019s actions. Trump\u2019s first administration alone accounted for 66 percent of all the injunctions issued on presidential actions between 2001 and 2023, according to data from a Harvard Law Review piece circulated by Republicans.
\nThe legislation from Issa had no support from Democrats when it was approved by the Judiciary Committee last month. A similar bill was introduced Monday by GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri.
\nRep. Jamie Raskin, of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Judiciary panel, said Trump is being hit with injunctions because he is \u201cengaged in terrible, irresponsible and lawless violations of people\u2019s rights.\u201d
\n\u201cWe are winning in court,\u201d Raskin said in a video address. \u201cWe\u2019ve got make sure we defend the integrity of the judiciary.\u201d
\nWhen it comes to actually impeaching the judges, however, top Republicans have stopped short of backing what would be a severe action.
\nImpeachments are rare in Congress, particularly of judges, but several rank-and-file House Republicans have proposed legislation to launch impeachment proceedings against various federal judges who have ruled in ways unfavorable to the Trump administration.
\nMusk has rewarded House Republicans who signed onto impeachment legislation with political donations, according to a person familiar with information first reported by the New York Times. The person was granted anonymity to discuss the matter.
\nRepublicans are particularly focused on Boasberg, the chief judge of the district court in Washington, D.C., who Jordan said is in a \u201csomewhat unique in that, you know, his decision was crazy.\u201d
\nThe judge is weighing whether the Trump administration defied his order after the planes of migrants landed in El Salvador, turned over to that country\u2019s notorious mega-prison system. The Trump administration had invoked the Alien Enemies Act, a war-time authority used during World War II against Japanese Americans, for the deportations the judge said lacked due process.
\nAny impeachment effort would also require backing from the Senate, where GOP leaders also panned the effort.
\nSenate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., echoed the advice of Roberts in allowing normal legal procedures to play out.
\n\u201cAt the end of the day, there is a process, and there\u2019s an appeals process, and you know, I suspect that\u2019s ultimately how this will get handled,\u201d Thune said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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