Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is reportedly planning to hold a hearing next week to address the issue of activist judges using nationwide orders to stymie President Donald Trump’s agenda.
The hearing is set to take place just after the House holds a similar hearing. Grassley told Foxx News Digital that “District judges’ abuse of nationwide injunctions has hobbled the executive branch and raised serious questions regarding the lower courts’ appropriate jurisdictional realm.”
The senator further argued that "Since the courts and the executive branch are on an unsustainable collision course, Congress must step in and provide clarity.”
The purpose of the hearing is to “explore legislative solutions to bring the balance of power back in check,” Grassley added.
In a press release, the lawmaker argued that judges should not be empowered to summarily block a president’s agenda.
The President of the United States shouldn’t have to ask permission from more than 600 different district judges to manage the executive branch he was elected to lead… The practice of sweeping nationwide injunctions, broad restraining orders and judicial policymaking must end. It’s unconstitutional, it’s anti-democratic and it’s imprudent. If the Supreme Court won’t stop it, Congress must.
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— 🇺🇸 Mike Davis 🇺🇸 (@mrddmia) March 26, 2025
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley is drafting crucial legislation to rein in activist judges sabotaging the presidency:
“The President of the United States shouldn’t have to ask permission from more than 600 different district judges to manage the executive branch he…
In a post on X, Grassley argued that “Nationwide injunctions inappropriately empower district judges 2 operate beyond the appropriate bounds of the lower courts & infringe on the executive.
Nationwide injunctions inappropriately empower district judges 2 operate beyond the appropriate bounds of the lower courts & infringe on the executive Im chairing a Sen Judic Cmte hrg on nationwide injunctions next Wed 4/2 Congress must take action 2put a stop to this
— Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) March 26, 2025
Democrats began waging lawfare against the Trump administration since the president first took office in January. Leftist groups have filed lawsuits against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), challenging its decisions to lay off federal workers, access sensitive information, and other matters.
In multiple cases, federal judges have placed nationwide injunctions on the Trump administration’s actions, halting them as the lawsuits are litigated. In the latest high-profile example, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg attempted to stop the administration from deporting Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador. Many of these individuals were suspected members of the Tren de Aragua street gang.
The Trump administration and the judge have been going back and forth, with Boasberg demanding information on the flights that took the Venezuelans to El Salvador. The White House has refused to acquiesce.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Tuesday suggested that Congress may have to use its power to stop judges from using their authority to hamper the president’s policies.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) indicated on Tuesday that Congress might have to leverage its power over the judiciary to prevent the constant legal attacks on Trump’s policies, according to Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman.
Johnson said, “We do have authority over the federal courts” and that the legislature “can eliminate an entire district court” if need be.
“We have power, funding over the courts and all these other things. But desperate times call for desperate measures and Congress is going to act so stay tuned for that,” he continued.