Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Trump Officials Intensify Attacks on Judges as Court Losses Mount
Trump Officials Intensify Attacks on Judges as Court Losses Mount
White House reactions to unfavorable court rulings appeared designed to undermine confidence in the judiciary.
The U.S. Court of International Trade in New York on Thursday. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
By Luke Broadwater
Reporting from Washington
May 29, 2025
Most Americans have never heard of the U.S. Court of International Trade, which has wide-ranging authority over trade matters. … But after a three-judge panel ruled against the president’s aggressive tariff regime Wednesday evening, the response from President Trump and his allies was both immediate and familiar.
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, called the decision a “judicial coup” on social media. … “We are living under a judicial tyranny,” Mr. Miller added on Thursday, reposting photos of the three trade court judges. Two of the judges were Republican appointees, one named to the bench by Mr. Trump.
Even by the judge-bashing standards of the Trump administration, the White House’s sharp reactions this week to court decisions curtailing its agenda appeared to intensify a strategic effort to undermine confidence in the judiciary. … “Trump’s attack on the judges is an attempt to undo the separation of powers,” Ty Cobb, a lawyer who defended Mr. Trump in a special counsel investigation in his first term, said in an interview. “It’s an attempt to take what is three coequal branches and make it one dominant branch.”
{snip}
“This was a planned war that he had been planning since he lost the last election,” Judge Luttig said. “From Day 1, the president, the vice president and then eventually his entire cabinet have been attacking the courts and the judiciary because they knew to a certainty that the courts would strike down his initiatives.” … The administration is winless thus far in court cases concerning punishments the president has tried to inflict on law firms. It has thus far not appealed those cases. … In other cases, the Trump administration has argued it should be granted wide latitude on matters ranging from tariffs to immigration enforcement because it faces emergency or an invasion.
{snip}
Luke Broadwater covers the White House for The Times.
White House reactions to unfavorable court rulings appeared designed to undermine confidence in the judiciary.
The U.S. Court of International Trade in New York on Thursday. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
By Luke Broadwater
Reporting from Washington
May 29, 2025
Most Americans have never heard of the U.S. Court of International Trade, which has wide-ranging authority over trade matters. … But after a three-judge panel ruled against the president’s aggressive tariff regime Wednesday evening, the response from President Trump and his allies was both immediate and familiar.
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, called the decision a “judicial coup” on social media. … “We are living under a judicial tyranny,” Mr. Miller added on Thursday, reposting photos of the three trade court judges. Two of the judges were Republican appointees, one named to the bench by Mr. Trump.
Even by the judge-bashing standards of the Trump administration, the White House’s sharp reactions this week to court decisions curtailing its agenda appeared to intensify a strategic effort to undermine confidence in the judiciary. … “Trump’s attack on the judges is an attempt to undo the separation of powers,” Ty Cobb, a lawyer who defended Mr. Trump in a special counsel investigation in his first term, said in an interview. “It’s an attempt to take what is three coequal branches and make it one dominant branch.”
{snip}
“This was a planned war that he had been planning since he lost the last election,” Judge Luttig said. “From Day 1, the president, the vice president and then eventually his entire cabinet have been attacking the courts and the judiciary because they knew to a certainty that the courts would strike down his initiatives.” … The administration is winless thus far in court cases concerning punishments the president has tried to inflict on law firms. It has thus far not appealed those cases. … In other cases, the Trump administration has argued it should be granted wide latitude on matters ranging from tariffs to immigration enforcement because it faces emergency or an invasion.
{snip}
Luke Broadwater covers the White House for The Times.