Bench Marks

The courts are an essential part of our constitutional system of checks and balances. They help us interpret and uphold our laws, peacefully resolve disputes, and maintain the balance of power between branches of government.

The judiciary is an independent and co-equal branch of our government—on par with the president and Congress. It has multiple levels, but every court has the ability and the responsibility to enforce the law. And when any court rules that the other branches of government have to behave a certain way, those branches have to listen.

The people support this. A recent States United poll found that nearly three-quarters of Americans approve of that separation of powers. They don’t want all the power of the government to be concentrated in one branch—let alone one person. Another poll found that most Americans agree that when judges rule against President Trump and find his administration’s actions to be illegal or unconstitutional, he should obey their rulings.

In recent weeks, judges have done just that. More than 30 federal judges from courts across the country have issued rulings stopping or restricting the administration’s actions. Here’s what they said.

⚖️ Some judges have said that the Trump administration’s actions violate the Constitution or other laws. They’ve described the administration’s actions as…

• “blatantly illegal,”
• “constitutionally flawed,”
• “contrary to Supreme Court precedent and over a century of practice,”
• “very unconstitutional and illegal,” and
• “a serious misunderstanding at best—and a conscious flouting at worst—of the judicial process and the rule of law.”

⚖️ Some judges have said that the Trump administration’s actions, if allowed to continue, could cause irreparable harm to people. They’ve said that the administration…

• “fail[ed] to contemplate the risk to human life,”
• “squarely, unconstitutionally, ‘abridge[d] the freedom of speech,’”
• “trie[d] to wave away concrete evidence of devastating harm,” and
• “precipitated a nationwide crisis.”

⚖️ Some judges have said that arguments made by the Trump administration in court have no basis in facts, the law, or both. They’ve said that the administration…

• “ignore[d] both logic and fact,”
• “does not have the text or precedent to support its interpretation” of the law,
• “fail[ed] to provide even the most basic level of ‘reasoning,’”
• “failed to provide any reasoned explanation, let alone one that considered the facts and circumstances,” and
• made arguments that are “disingenuous at best,” “flat wrong,” and “blatantly contradicted by the record.”

⚖️ Some judges have said that the Trump administration is trying to do more than it has the authority to do. They’ve said that some of the administration’s actions…

• “attempted to coopt Congress’s power,”
• “overstep[ped] the President’s authority under the separation of powers,”
• are “unsupported by any authority,” and
• “fundamentally undermine[d] the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government.”

This week, Trump escalated attacks on the judicial branch. After weeks of executive branch officials undermining the authority of federal judges, the president used his social media account to make inflammatory and false statements about a judge that ruled against him. Trump called for the judge to be impeached.

Trump is trying to weaken the power of the judiciary—and the public’s trust in our court system—in response to judges upholding the law. But again: the judicial branch is equal with the executive branch in this country. Judges aren’t picking a fight with Trump by ruling against him. They’re just doing their jobs.

This Week in Democracy

• A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to halt some of its deportation efforts, but the administration continued anyway. At a follow-up hearing, the judge questioned lawyers for the government on why they didn’t comply with his orders immediately. He called their answers “woefully insufficient.” The lawyers are due back in court today to give answers.

  After President Trump wrote on social media that the judge overseeing the case should be impeached, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare statement in response. “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” he said. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”

  ➡️ READ: Sharing the Facts About the Alien Enemies Act

• Trump signed an executive order on Thursday ordering Education Secretary Linda McMahon to drastically shrink the Education Department as part of his administration’s plans to “return education to the states.” That description is misleading, since state governments already have the authority to run our education systems.

  Separately, a federal judge ordered the department to restore some federal grants that were canceled by the Education Department. Canceling the grants was “unreasonable” and “not reasonably explained,” the judge wrote.

  ➡️ READ: Sharing the Facts About State Authority and Education

• Ed Martin, the interim U.S. Attorney for D.C., said that he formed a team to enforce election laws and investigate alleged violations. Martin has promoted false claims of election fraud and went to the Capitol with rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, after giving a speech calling on them to “stop the steal.”
• A federal judge ordered the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to stop their work to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). He ruled that the way DOGE is running likely violates the Constitution and blocked it from taking any more actions to shut down USAID.

State of the States

In Pennsylvania, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, warning her that her department’s cuts to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency “will make elections less secure.” The agency recently cut about $10 million in funding for programs that made it easier for election officials from across the country to share information with each other.

➡️ READ: Sharing the Facts About the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)

In Wisconsin, early voting began in the spring election. There are a variety of state and local races on the ballot, including a closely-watched race for a seat on the state Supreme Court. Election Day in Wisconsin is April 1. Voters can learn more about how and where to vote at MyVote Wisconsin.