(WASHINGTON) — Following Vice President JD Vance’s comments Sunday arguing that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” some Republican lawmakers have pushed back and reiterated the power of the courts.
As President Donald Trump continues to try to remake the federal government through a flood of executive orders, the number of legal challenges to his efforts have piled up, with federal courts across the country siding with plaintiffs to pause his plans as judges sort out the legality of his actions.
On Tuesday, Trump lashed out on his Truth Social platform against “certain activists and highly political judges” who he says want to “slow down” or stop his administration’s efforts to investigate “FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE.”
However, some Republican lawmakers are not completely on board with the administration’s strong stance criticizing the courts.
“We’ve got a system of checks and balances, and that’s what I see working,” Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley said Monday night. “I learned in eighth grade civics about checks and balances, and I just expect the process to work its way out.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he believes the courts have an “important role to play” in moderating power.
“The courts obviously are the sort of the branch of our government that calls balls and strikes and referees and I think that they’ve got an important role to play,” Thune said. “I mean we have three branches of our government in this country, coequal and independent branches, and the judiciary is the one that resolves some of the differences that often occur between executive and legislative branches.”
Thune said the judiciary has moderated a number executive and congressional decisions in recent years.
“I expect that to continue, and I expect the court to play the important role of ensuring that you know the laws of the country are followed,” he added.
Sen. Josh Hawley, who serves on the Judiciary Committee and is a former state attorney general and Supreme Court clerk, called Vance’s comments an “understandable reaction” to frustration about the court’s rulings. But, he said, the courts are independent, and their rulings need to be followed.
“You may think that’s not the right ruling, but you know, they’re still the law,” Hawley said, adding that he believes the administration should abide by court rulings.
Hawley said executives have a right to challenge and appeal and to follow orders but not apply them broadly.
During an interview on “The Mark Levin Show” Monday evening, Trump said the blocking of some of his executive actions by court order are “bad rulings.”
“Frankly, they want to sort of tell everybody how to run the country,” the president added during the interview, arguing that there are “very important people, smart people doing investigations of fraud,” and criticizing the courts for calling this “unconstitutional.”
“But judges should be ruling. They shouldn’t be dictating what you’re supposed to be doing,” Trump said.
However, some Republican leaders continue to back the administration.
During a press conference Tuesday morning, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson endorsed the vice president’s assertion by saying, “I agree wholeheartedly with Vice President JD Vance because he’s right.”
Though Johnson acknowledged “of course the branches have to respect our constitutional order,” he also said, “I think the courts should take a step back and allow these processes to play out.”
The speaker added that he does not feel uncomfortable with the president’s power and that the administration is doing “what’s right by the American people.”
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