It's Finally Happening: Trump and Musk Deliver Huge Defeat to Activist Judge as Tide Begins to Turn

If judges at any level within the federal system can obstruct President Donald Trump from executing his constitutional duties, then we are facing a serious crisis.

It is worth considering whether even well-meaning and informed Americans truly grasp the depth of this problem. Put simply, if the judiciary possesses such authority, then casting a vote becomes meaningless. Likewise, staying engaged in public affairs loses its purpose. Our republic, already largely under the control of entrenched bureaucratic forces, would collapse into a complete charade.

Fortunately, Elon Musk, who owns the social media platform X and leads Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, achieved a crucial victory on Tuesday when a federal appeals court intervened to overturn an overreaching district judge’s ruling.

According to The Harvard Crimson, Judge Theodore D. Chuang—a member of Harvard University’s Board of Overseers, which underscores the tight-knit nature of the country’s ruling elite—determined last week that Musk likely overstepped constitutional boundaries when he led Trump’s effort in February to shut down the United States Agency for International Development.

Chuang currently serves as a U.S. District Judge for the District of Maryland, having been appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2013.

On Tuesday, independent journalist Nick Sortor shared a screenshot of the appellate court’s decision to overturn Chuang’s ruling on X.

“On the defendants’ motion for an administrative stay,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit stated, “the court orders that the district court’s preliminary injunction dated March 18, 2025, as clarified by its order dated March 20, 2025, be stayed and hereby is stayed until the close of business of Thursday, March 27, 2025.”

Sortor further pointed out that “an expanded ruling could come later this week.”

The “defendants” in this case—who also acted as the appellants—referred to Musk and DOGE.

While this temporary two-day stay does not amount to a definitive triumph, it is nevertheless an essential move in the right direction.

For one, USAID must not be reestablished in its previous capacity. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. described the agency as “sinister,” and there is ample justification for that characterization.

More broadly, Tuesday’s stay halted the progression of what amounts to a judicial coup against Trump.

For example, earlier this month, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg—another Obama-era appointee—attempted to seize executive authority by ordering the reversal of two deportation flights carrying members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. Despite this ruling, Trump administration officials ensured that the flights departed U.S. airspace as planned.

Naturally, we support deporting illegal alien criminals and shutting down USAID.

However, the real concern extends beyond personal policy views. After all the legal disputes, injunctions, and appeals, one fact remains clear: the American people voted for these measures.

Trump explicitly promised mass deportations and the dismantling of the deep state—both of which are fully within his constitutional rights as president.

Just as the executive branch cannot strip Congress of its legislative powers or dictate Supreme Court rulings, neither should the judiciary or legislature encroach upon the presidency.

The Constitution provides clear mechanisms for addressing extreme abuses of power. In this case, the only overreach has come from the courts. A free and self-governing people who elect their president must not tolerate such judicial interference.