Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) announced on Thursday that he plans to introduce a bill to stop federal judges who have made rulings that have blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from taking certain actions.
“District Court judges have issued RECORD numbers of national injunctions against the Trump administration – a dramatic abuse of judicial authority. I will introduce legislation to stop this abuse for good,” Hawley said in a post on X.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt recently said Trump’s second term faced 15 injunctions in one month, a statistic that outpaces the number levied against the federal government during the first few years of the Biden administration.
Some judges have ordered elements of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort led by Elon Musk to cease. Another one halted Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to deport illegal migrants, including violent criminals.
Joining “The Charlie Kirk Show,” Hawley argued district courts do not have the “power” to rein in executive branch actions on the national level except in “really extraordinary circumstances.” He contended that one of two things needs to happen.
“Either the Supreme Court needs to intervene and make clear there’s only one court that can issue rules for the whole country — that’s the Supreme Court,” the senator declared. “And … if they won’t do that, Congress needs to legislate.”
House Republicans have unveiled articles of impeachment against several judges they feel are delivering rulings that are unfavorable to the Trump administration out of political animus. Trump himself voiced support for impeaching these judges.
On Tuesday, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare statement pushing back on the GOP impeachment push and declaring the “normal appellate review process exists” for the purpose of fighting a judicial decision.
While a simple majority to impeach could be achieved along party lines in the House, a bipartisan group of 67 senators would be needed for removal — an outcome that faces long odds considering the GOP’s slim majority in the upper chamber.
Earlier this month, the House Judiciary Committee advanced legislation from Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) called the “No Rogue Rulings Act” that, if enacted, would amend the U.S. Code to “limit the authority of district courts to provide injunctive relief.”
Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) said during a Wednesday interview on CNN that Republicans would “try to look to pass it on the House floor and move it through the process” and suggested “another legislative remedy” could be considered.
