Veep Pence announced yesterday that the Trump admin is looking to put a stop to one of the #resistance crowd’s favorite tools: using a district court to shut down a national policy. The #resistance seeks out an injunction against a disfavored policy by forum shopping for a liberal activist judge to intervene and immediately the entire nation is subject to the whims of a regional court.
Clever.
“The Supreme Court of the United States must clarify that district judges can decide no more than the cases before them — and it’s imperative that we restore the historic tradition that district judges do not set policy for the whole nation,” Pence told the Federalist Society.
“In the days ahead, our administration will seek opportunities to put this question before the Supreme Court — to ensure that decisions affecting every American are made either by those elected to represent the American people or by the highest court in the land,” Pence added.
Justice Thomas seems to agree with the administration’s plan.
“I am skeptical that district courts have the authority to enter universal injunctions,” Thomas wrote. “These injunctions did not emerge until a century and a half after the founding. And they appear to be inconsistent with longstanding limits on equitable relief and the power of Article III courts. If their popularity continues, this Court must address their legality.”
The most notable example of this trick was Trump’s travel ban or “Muslim ban” as the left liked to call it. The administration sought to ban travel from identified countries with ties to terrorism. The left immediately sought to gum up the Trump works by getting a judge in Hawaii to stop the whole policy. It took months and months to arrive at the Supreme Court, which upheld the president’s authority to issue national security directives.
The ruling sends a strong message that Trump has broad powers under immigration law to act to protect national security and that statements made during a campaign may not be legally determinative of the President’s intent.
“The Proclamation is squarely within the scope of Presidential authority,” Chief Justice Roberts wrote.
The left has continued to obstruct the president particularly on the immigration policy front.
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