Vice President JD Vance sent another warning to ârogueâ federal judges who he feels are abusing their authority to improperly impede President Donald Trump as head of the Executive Branch.
Of note, the courts have blocked Trumpâs efforts to end birthright citizenship, freeze federal grants, and overhaul federal agencies like USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Several other rulings have either stalled or stopped major moves from the Trump administration as they made their way through the courts.
Vance has also spoken out against several of the judges who he believes are improperly encroaching on Executive Branch authority.
If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, thatâs also illegal. Judges arenât allowed to control the executiveâs legitimate power,â Vance said over the weekend, per ABC.
President Trump was also asked about Vanceâs comments and his court setbacks.
âWhen a president canât look for fraud and waste and abuse, we donât have a country anymore,â Trump told reporters. âSo, weâre very disappointed, but with the judges that would make such a ruling. But we have a long way to go.â
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âNo judge should, frankly, be allowed to make that kind of a decision,â the president added. âItâs a disgrace.â
Republicans are largely united in their support of the president. Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton criticized the judge who blocked DOGEâs access to Treasury data, calling him an âoutlaw.â Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, mostly defended Muskâs actions on CNN Sunday, asserting that he was âcarrying out the willâ of the president who appointed him.
To that end, House Republicans are planning to introduce articles of impeachment against at least two federal judges who have blocked Trumpâs efforts, Axios reported.
The measures are part of an escalating public clash between Republicans and the federal judiciary as Trump pushes back against obstacles to his âgovernment efficiencyâ agenda. Trump intensified the situation this week during an Oval Office news briefing with DOGE head Musk, stating, âMaybe we have to look at the judges because I think thatâs a very serious violation.â
Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) is working on articles of impeachment against U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell Jr., the chief judge of the District of Rhode Island and an Obama appointee, who ordered the administration to lift its federal spending freeze, Clydeâs office confirmed to Axios.
In a post on X this week, Clyde called McConnell a âpartisan activist weaponizing our judicial system to stop President Trumpâs funding freeze on woke and wasteful government spending.
