Trump’s DOJ Now Also Justifying Admin’s Efforts To Defy The Judiciary

April 9, 2025

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Some of President Trump’s more influential cronies (namely, Elon Musk, Stephen Miller) have been pushing the envelope since the beginning of his second administration, goading the President as he openly brainstorms ways to punish judges who rule against his executive actions and encouraging him to ignore court orders he doesn’t agree with.

He’s had backup in Congress as well. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) has been rather vocal about his preferred solution, defunding elements of the judicial branch. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has mused about eliminating certain federal courts, as he avoids engaging seriously with his own conference’s push to impeach judges including Chief District Court Judge for DC James Boasberg. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has even introduced legislation that would curtail some federal judges’ authority to issue nationwide injunctions.

While last night’s Supreme Court ruling did, in part, delay what is looking increasingly inevitable — a direct clash between Trump and the judicial branch — the ground-softening around Trump’s ability to ignore court orders continues, both with the case involving the deportation of migrants to El Salvador and in the rhetorical room his allies create.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, for example, took up the mantle over the weekend, openly suggesting judges ruling against the Trump administration — serving as a crucial, and very standard, constitutional check on the executive branch — is the real constitutional crisis.

“Just since January 20th, we’ve had over 170 lawsuits filed against us. That should be the constitutional crisis right there, 50 injunctions,” Bondi said on Fox News this weekend. “They’re popping up every single day, trying to control his executive power, trying to control where he believes our tax dollars should be allocated.”

“It’s basically a game of whack-a-mole with these District Court judges around the country who have a tremendous amount of power, they believe they do,” she said. “But that’s why we’re appealing all of these cases of course up to the Supreme Court.”

Honeymoon’s Over

Some of Donald Trump’s closest allies in Congress and within his own administration are losing patience with the President’s economy-smashing global tariff announcements. While Senate Democrats, along with seven Senate Republicans, introduce legislation that would reclaim their authority over trade policy back from the executive branch, House Democrats are also considering attempting to force their colleagues in the lower chamber to take a vote on the tariffs. The House Dems’ resolution would end the emergency declaration that Trump used to implement the sweeping tariffs.

“Republicans can’t keep ducking the vote on these taxes,” Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Richard Neal (D-MA) and Rick Larsen (D-WA) said in a statement when they introduced the resolution Tuesday. “It is time they take a vote and show their constituents whether or not they support the ‘economic pain’ President Trump is inflicting on American families.”

Trump’s allies in the Senate and within the administration are getting bolder, too.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who co-sponsored the Senate’s bill, said Tuesday that he thinks Congress gave the President too much power over trade in past decades: “I made very clear throughout my public service that I’m a free and fair trader. The Constitution gives Congress the authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce. I believe that Congress delegated too much authority to the president in the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and Trade Act of 1974,” Grassley said.
“Whose throat do I get to choke if this turns out to be wrong?” Republican Sen. Thom Tillis (NC), considered one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the Senate, asked Tuesday when U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testified before the Senate Finance Committee about what exactly Trump is trying to accomplish with his global trade conflict.
Elon Musk escalated his ongoing public feud with White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, whom he traded jabs with over the weekend, making his non-support for the Trump administration policy known. On Tuesday he called Navarro “truly a moron” and “dumber than a sack of bricks.”

Bongino Somehow Needs Full Security Detail

Former New York City cop and MAGA conspiracy theorist will be the first FBI Deputy Director with a full security detail, according to new reporting from NBC News. It’s less-than stellar MAGA branding, for a tough guy, who instead of carrying his own weapon, is opting for a full security team — for unclear reasons.

A message sent to current FBI agents, requested volunteers to leave their posts temporarily to be a part of Bonginio’s security team. A full-time security team could include up to 20 FBI agents. It’s a stark contrast from the single agent who served as security detail on a part-time basis for the former deputy director Paul Abbate who also carried his own weapon, noted NBC News.

— Khaya Himmelman

Let The Strong-Arming Begin, Again

President Donald Trump is once again trying to strong-arm House Republicans into getting behind the budget resolution he wants to pass to unlock the reconciliation process.

Trump met with a group of House Republican holdouts, many of them hardline conservatives, at the White House Tuesday afternoon in an attempt to convince them to vote for the blueprint that the Senate passed over the weekend.

Trump reportedly told the holdouts he would follow through with the big spending cuts these members are pushing for even though the newly finalized Senate instructions do not include the reductions House Republicans want.

At least one member seemingly came out of the White House meeting with his mind changed. Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS), who is on the House Budget Committee, said he is a “yes” after the meeting.

But other key holdouts like Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who is also on the Budget Committee, seemed unmoved.

“Why am I voting on a budget based on promises that I don’t believe are going to materialize?” Roy said, referring to the Senate plan.

Despite the fact that the numbers are still against him, Johnson tried to project confidence following the meeting, saying: “We had a lot of members whose questions were answered, and I think we’re moving, making great progress right now.”

— Emine Yücel