Federal Judges are insulated from politics (with lifetime tenure) so they can make tough decisions – like telling a president “no” – without fear of political retribution. That is a feature, not a bug, of our system. It protects all of us.
Introduction
Donald Trump and his allies have lately made it abundantly clear that they hold the federal judiciary in contempt – a stance as dangerous as it is ignorant. In just the past few days, we’ve heard White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt call a judge’s injunction “absurd” and “unconstitutional.”
We’ve seen former Trump adviser Stephen Miller insist that the President’s powers “will not be questioned” by judges. We’ve watched Secretary of State Marco Rubio blithely ignore a federal court order halting deportation flights. And we’ve heard Trump’s hand-picked “border czar,” Tom Homan, flat-out declare, “I don’t care what the judges think.” Each of these statements shows a stunning disregard for the power of federal judges – a power established by the U.S. Constitution – and together they amount to an attack on our democracy itself.
Karoline Leavitt (White House Press Secretary)
Let’s start with Ms. Leavitt, the new mouthpiece of Trump’s war on the judiciary. Leavitt fumed that “you cannot have a low-level district court judge” issue an order that blocks the President’s will, scoffing that it’s “absurd.” Pardon the sarcasm, but it sounds like Leavitt slept through high school civics. In our constitutional system, any federal district judge – yes, even one Leavitt derides as “low-level” – has the authority to issue injunctions stopping unlawful executive actions. That’s not absurd; that’s their job.
The Constitution’s Article III doesn’t come with a footnote saying “judges can’t rule against the president.” In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Federal judges are supposed to check presidents when their actions likely violate the law or Constitution. That’s the essence of checks and balances, which Leavitt somehow labeled “entirely unconstitutional.” The irony would be hilarious if it weren’t so dangerous.
