The Republicans may have complete control of Congress, but President Trump still has a major roadblock to carrying out his agenda — the courts.
The lower courts blocked more of Trump’s executive orders in his first two months of office than they did for other recent commanders in chief during their entire terms.
The lower courts have slapped at least 15 national injunctions against Trump so far this year.
That drastically outpaces the six against former President George W. Bush during his entire presidency and the 12 against former President Barack Obama and the 14 against former President Joe Biden for their whole time in office, too, according to a tally from Harvard Law Review.
If the current pace holds up, it’s on track to top the total 64 nationwide injunctions Trump faced during his first term in the White House.
In his first term, Trump signed 220 executive orders, a figure in line with the other three presidents, according to the American Presidency Project.
He has signed more than 90 since the start of his second term, the Federal Register says.
In the past, lower court rulings were more tailored to the case before them. But in recent years, the courts have become increasingly comfortable making their injunctions take effect nationwide.
Such injunctions have hamstrung Trump’s efforts to end birthright citizenship and a whole host of other policies he’s pursued.
Trump’s administration has used the injunction against his birthright citizenship in an effort to petition the US Supreme Court to rein in the lower courts’ increasing use of such blocks.
The Supreme Court gave critics of the Trump administration’s petition until April 4 to defend the injunction, indicating that justices do not feel like they’re in any particular rush to settle the issue.
Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch have been fiercely critical of lower courts overusing nationwide injunctions and overstepping their power generally.
Earlier this month, Alito penned a scathing dissent backed by Justices Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh over a decision not to nix a lower court ruling compelling the Trump administration to unfreeze $2 billion in US Agency for International Development funding.
“Does a single district-court judge who likely lacks jurisdiction have the unchecked power to compel the Government of the United States to pay out (and probably lose forever) 2 billion taxpayer dollars?” Alito groused in his dissent. “The answer to that question should be an emphatic ‘No.’ “
It’s not entirely clear if Alito and Gorsuch could convince the rest of the high court to thwart such nationwide injunctions.
Right now, the main recourse for the Trump administration is to appeal to a higher court and eventually the Supreme Court. But that takes time and money.
Some of Trump’s allies have mused about simply defying court orders.
Vice President JD Vance has meanwhile openly accused some judges of making illegal rulings, and Trump has floated the idea of impeaching jurists who get in his way.
That notion drew a rare rebuke from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” the chief justice wrote in a statement last week without mentioning Trump by name.
“The normal appellate review process exists for that reason.”
Trump downplayed Roberts’ criticisms and has publicly suggested that he won’t defy the courts.
US District Court Judge James Boasberg is currently probing whether Trump defied his 14-day injunction barring flights to El Salvador to stash alleged Venezuelan gangbangers in prisons there.
Several flights went off after Boasberg gave the order.
Critics such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have warned of a constitutional crisis if Trump defies such court orders.
Trump has also attempted to hit back at some lawyers and law firms that have stonewalled his agenda. He’s used executive actions to yank their security clearances and cut off government contracts.
Late last week, Trump directed US Attorney General Pam Bondi to explore ways the administration can sanction firms and lawyers who slap “frivolous” lawsuits against the US government.