‘Judges Are Not Presidents” Sen. Mike Lee on Judicial Usurpation of the Presidency

Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is weighing in on judicial overreach as the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments today regarding the legality of nationwide injunctions being issued against President Trump’s policies by District Court judges.

The Supreme Court will specifically consider whether district courts can issue nationwide injunctions to block the implementation of a federal executive order.

Lee told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that there’s been a deterioration of the understanding of the difference between a judge and a president.

Lee explained, We’ve got judges cosplaying as Presidents, but judges aren’t Presidents. They’re not politicians. They’re not there to make executive decisions.”

Utah Senator @SenMikeLee reacts to upcoming SCOTUS nationwide injunction challenge:

“There’s been a deterioration of the understanding of the difference between a Judge and a President. We’ve got judges cosplaying as Presidents, but judges aren’t Presidents. They’re not… pic.twitter.com/wy0mBQD6qi

— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) May 14, 2025

Lee told Fox News that judges aren’t presidents and they aren’t politicians and said, “They shouldn’t be issuing nationwide injunctions knowing they can’t stand litigation with the sole intention of slowing the constitutional authority granted to the Executive Branch.”

According to Lee, the district judges who issue these injunctions do so knowing that their injunction will likely be struck down as the policy is litigated but that the process will take time and by slowing the implementation of that policy, they can deny the president “a substantial portion of his presidency through delay.”

Lee hopes to see the court remedy the problem after hearing today’s oral arguments, though he says we won’t likely know the Supreme Court’s decision for another few weeks.

“I hope and expect to see the court clamp down on this and say ‘Look, you’re depriving him of his presidency,'” Lee told Ingraham.

Depending upon the high court’s decision, the ruling could significantly impact the scope of nationwide injunctions and their ability to put the brakes on federal policies.