House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) is pushing appropriators to leverage upcoming funding legislation to put restraints on federal judges who have issued nationwide injunctions against President Donald Trump’s policies.
With a letter dated March 31, Jordan implored leaders on the Committee on Appropriations to use “Congress’s power of the purse” to crack down on what he described as the “abuse of nationwide injunctive authority” during the first 60 days of Trump’s second term and ensure “the federal judiciary can continue to operate effectively and responsibly with respect to its growing civil and criminal dockets.”
Federal judges have issued more than a dozen injunctions during the first couple months of the new Trump administration, including orders hindering the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort and blocking the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members, as legal battles focused on federal government actions play out in court.
Jordan offered a number of “steps” that he argued “would reinforce the proper limits of judicial power and ensure that taxpayer resources support a judiciary that respects its constitutional role.”
He said: “In particular, we urge you to consider language prohibiting the use of taxpayer dollars and federal resources to issue or enforce these overbroad injunctions beyond the specific parties in front of an issuing court in a particular case. Additionally, we ask that you consider including language to limit appropriated funds related to the issuance and enforcement of nationwide injunctions, including using court resources to compel compliance, impose fines, or conduct contempt proceedings related to such injunctions.”
Jordan also noted that his committee has “developed legislative reforms within our jurisdiction to address this misuse of judicial authority and to restore balance between the branches of the federal government.”
While some Republicans are rallying for impeaching judges or otherwise trying to remove them, the House is expected to vote this week on the “No Rogue Rulings Act of 2025,” legislation that seeks to amend U.S. Code to prevent district courts from issuing injunctions unless the order applies only to the parties of the particular case at hand.
Before passing out the House Judiciary Committee last month, the bill was amended to allow for an injunction from a panel of three randomly selected judges when the overarching case is brought by two or more states in multiple circuits and make room for appealing to the Supreme Court.
The House Judiciary Committee held on Tuesday a hearing titled “Judicial Overreach and Constitutional Limits on the Federal Courts” in which former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) delivered an opening statement that warned: “There is clearly a potential constitutional crisis involving the judicial branch’s effort to fully override the legislative and executive branches.”
In a post on X, House Judiciary Democrats said, “Trump keeps losing in court, so MAGA Republicans want to punish the judges instead of following the law.”
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House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) is pushing appropriators to leverage upcoming funding legislation to put restraints on federal judges who have issued nationwide injunctions against President Donald Trump’s policies.
With a letter dated March 31, Jordan implored leaders on the Committee on Appropriations to use “Congress’s power of the purse” to crack down on what he described as the “abuse of nationwide injunctive authority” during the first 60 days of Trump’s second term and ensure “the federal judiciary can continue to operate effectively and responsibly with respect to its growing civil and criminal dockets.”
Federal judges have issued more than a dozen injunctions during the first couple months of the new Trump administration, including orders hindering the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort and blocking the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members, as legal battles focused on federal government actions play out in court.
Jordan offered a number of “steps” that he argued “would reinforce the proper limits of judicial power and ensure that taxpayer resources support a judiciary that respects its constitutional role.”
He said: “In particular, we urge you to consider language prohibiting the use of taxpayer dollars and federal resources to issue or enforce these overbroad injunctions beyond the specific parties in front of an issuing court in a particular case. Additionally, we ask that you consider including language to limit appropriated funds related to the issuance and enforcement of nationwide injunctions, including using court resources to compel compliance, impose fines, or conduct contempt proceedings related to such injunctions.”
Jordan also noted that his committee has “developed legislative reforms within our jurisdiction to address this misuse of judicial authority and to restore balance between the branches of the federal government.”
While some Republicans are rallying for impeaching judges or otherwise trying to remove them, the House is expected to vote this week on the “No Rogue Rulings Act of 2025,” legislation that seeks to amend U.S. Code to prevent district courts from issuing injunctions unless the order applies only to the parties of the particular case at hand.
Before passing out the House Judiciary Committee last month, the bill was amended to allow for an injunction from a panel of three randomly selected judges when the overarching case is brought by two or more states in multiple circuits and make room for appealing to the Supreme Court.
The House Judiciary Committee held on Tuesday a hearing titled “Judicial Overreach and Constitutional Limits on the Federal Courts” in which former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) delivered an opening statement that warned: “There is clearly a potential constitutional crisis involving the judicial branch’s effort to fully override the legislative and executive branches.”
In a post on X, House Judiciary Democrats said, “Trump keeps losing in court, so MAGA Republicans want to punish the judges instead of following the law.”
“}]]
