Vice President JD Vance Blows The Whistle with Announcement
Vice President JD Vance issued another warning to "rogue" federal judges, accusing them of overstepping their authority in ways that improperly hinder President Donald Trump’s ability to govern as the head of the Executive Branch.
Notably, the courts have intervened to block Trump’s initiatives on birthright citizenship, halting federal grant funding, and restructuring agencies such as USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Several significant efforts from the Trump administration have been delayed or completely obstructed as they navigated through the judicial system.
Vance has been vocal in his criticism of certain judges, whom he believes are exceeding their judicial authority at the expense of the Executive Branch’s legitimate power.
“If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” Vance stated over the weekend, according to ABC.
President Trump was also questioned about Vance’s remarks and the legal obstacles he has encountered.
“When a president can’t look for fraud and waste and abuse, we don’t have a country anymore,” Trump told reporters. “So, we’re very disappointed, but with the judges that would make such a ruling. But we have a long way to go.”
“No judge should, frankly, be allowed to make that kind of a decision,” Trump added. “It’s a disgrace.”
Republicans have largely rallied behind Trump on this issue. Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton condemned the judge who blocked DOGE’s access to Treasury records, labeling him an “outlaw.” Meanwhile, Rep. Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, defended Musk’s actions on CNN Sunday, asserting that he was “carrying out the will” of the president who appointed him.
In response, House Republicans are planning to introduce impeachment articles against at least two federal judges who have impeded Trump’s efforts, Axios reported.
These impeachment efforts mark a growing conflict between Republicans and the federal judiciary as Trump continues to push forward with his "government efficiency" agenda. The situation escalated further this week when Trump, during an Oval Office briefing with DOGE head Musk, remarked, “Maybe we have to look at the judges because I think that’s a very serious violation.”
Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) is drafting impeachment articles against U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell Jr., an Obama appointee and the chief judge of the District of Rhode Island, after he ordered the administration to lift its freeze on federal spending, Clyde’s office confirmed to Axios.
In a post on X this week, Clyde described McConnell as a “partisan activist weaponizing our judicial system to stop President Trump’s funding freeze on woke and wasteful government spending.”
Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) has also announced plans to introduce impeachment articles against U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York, another Obama appointee, who blocked DOGE from obtaining Treasury records, citing similar concerns.
Clyde and Crane would need a majority vote in the House to move forward with impeachment and a two-thirds majority in the Senate to secure a conviction.
With only 53 Senate Republicans, achieving the necessary votes remains a significant hurdle, Axios noted.
Judicial impeachments are rare and typically involve serious offenses such as corruption, perjury, or misconduct. The last successful impeachment of a federal judge occurred in 2010 due to false financial disclosures, the outlet further noted.
Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional law scholar at the University of North Carolina, told ABC News that much of Trump’s rhetoric amounts to “bravado,” as “judges are entitled to review the constitutionality of presidential actions.”