The leftist-backed effort to effectively nullify the results of the 2024 presidential election via a judicial coup is destroying the country’s constitutional order. But according to the White House, President Trump doesn’t have any actual plans to stop it.
During Thursday’s White House press briefing, Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway had the opportunity to ask Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about how the administration intends to rein in “rogue lower court judges” grinding the administration’s policies to a halt with overreaching injunctions and temporary restraining orders. After noting the Supreme Court and Congress’s apparent unwillingness to put a stop to it, Hemingway asked, “Is there an actual effort by this White House to tackle this issue in a comprehensive way, and if so, what is it?”
While Leavitt initially claimed there “is an effort by this administration to tackle these rogue judges and the injunctions and the blockades that we have faced in our broken judicial system,” she didn’t specify what the strategy is. The press secretary then proceeded to filibuster, listing a series of overreaching injunctions from lower court judges blocking different policies enacted by the administration.
[READ: Trump Should Buck Rogue Judges, Not Buckle To Them]
Leavitt’s evasive answer prompted Hemingway to once again pressure the press secretary about how the White House intended to fight back against activist judges’ efforts to sabotage the will of the more than 77 million Americans who voted for Trump last year.
“You’re saying you’re responding to each and every one of these actions, efforts by these judges to delay or thwart the implementation of the agenda. But is there going to be anything more than that, or is it just going to let this operation continue even though it could delay everything for years until the presidency is over?” Hemingway asked.
Leavitt’s answer was less than reassuring.
The press secretary said the administration “is operating under the directive given … from the president that we need to comply with the court’s orders,” and added that the White House intends “to fight them in court, and we’re going to win on the merits of these cases, because we know we are acting within a president’s legal and executive authorities.”
In other words, Trump and his administration have no current plans to end the judicial coup at all. They’re going to continue abiding by these rogue lower court judges’ overreaching edicts, thereby giving legitimacy to the unconstitutional effort crippling Trump’s presidency and America’s separation of powers.
Leavitt is absolutely correct that Trump is lawfully executing his responsibilities as delineated to him under Article II of the Constitution. Where she and the administration are completely wrong is their willingness to participate in the three-ring circus these out-of-control judges are putting on.
The judicial branch’s abuse of nationwide injunctions to kneecap the executive’s ability to enforce the law is not only egregious; it’s a complete overstep of the restraints placed upon it by the Constitution. In no way, shape, or form did the framers believe the judiciary should wield such untamed power. (If anything, some of them viewed the judiciary as the weakest of the three branches).
The Trump White House’s response to the ongoing judicial sabotage is no different than the feckless caterwauling the GOP establishment has engaged in for years. In typical fashion, leftists undertake overreaching and destructive actions that undermine America’s constitutional framework, all the while Republicans do nothing but rush to the nearest camera to tell everyone how bad it is.
It’s weak and pathetic.
The judiciary has every bit as much of an obligation to adhere to the Constitution as the executive does. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said as much in a recent opinion.
If the judicial branch won’t adhere to the Constitution, then Trump must. Further appeasement of rogue judges’ lawless actions will only continue to undermine America’s system of governance and subvert the will of 77 million voters in the process.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
