WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) delivered remarks on the Senate floor about activist judges across the country who are blocking President Trump’s agenda in court. 

In the last two months alone, judges have issued more nationwide injunctions against the Trump administration than they did during President Biden’s entire term. Earlier this week, Senator Blackburn joined Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in introducing the Judicial Relief Clarification Act to put a stop to unconstitutional judicial overreach.

REMARKS AS PREPARED

Activist Judges Are Holding Up President Trump’s Agenda for Illegitimate Reasons

In our constitutional republic, the President represents the will of We the People—more than any other elected official in the country. That’s because—alongside the Vice President—he is the only office holder who is elected by the entire nation.

And in November, the American people gave President Trump a powerful mandate to secure the border, lower inflation, rein in spending, and usher in a new Golden Age for America.

To be certain, the administration has had a lot of success. But on many fronts, the Trump agenda has been held up in court—not for legitimate legal reasons, but because activist judges want to block as many actions by this administration as possible.

In Two Months, Activist Judges Have Issued More Injunctions Against President Trump than during Four Years Under Biden

In the last two months alone, judges issued more injunctions—15 of them—against President Trump than during the entire Biden administration.

These judges aren’t issuing rulings on small details in narrow cases. They are trying to stop policies at the heart of the President’s America First agenda.

Tennesseans and Americans want a government that is accountable to the people. But after President Trump moved to cut down the size of the federal bureaucracy, a district judge in San Francisco blocked the order. Instead, he directed the administration to rehire thousands of terminated bureaucrats.

Tennesseans and Americans also want a government that spends taxpayer dollars responsibly so that we can lower inflation and tackle our $36 trillion debt. But after the Department of Government Efficiency found $140 billion in savings for taxpayers, several activist judges ordered the administration to send much of that money out the door.

Securing our nation is a core function of the presidency. Yet activist judges are even trying to stop President Trump from doing that.

677 District Judges Should Not Have Veto Power over the President

As the President tries to remove violent foreign gang members from our country, a district judge here in Washington ordered the administration to end the deportations.

Make no mistake: This obstruction is undermining our Constitution.

If each of our nation’s 677 district judges have veto power over the President, then We the People are no longer sovereign. 

The Separation of Powers works both ways, and judges must respect the President’s authority over the executive branch. 

Blackburn Joins Colleagues in Introducing the Judicial Relief Clarification Act

To ensure that happens, my Republican colleagues and I are introducing the Judicial Relief Clarification Act.

Led by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Grassley, this crucial legislation would… End the harmful practice of nationwide injunctions; Make temporary restraining orders against Federal or State Governments immediately appealable; and ensure courts can only issue relief for the case or controversy before them. A district judge in San Francisco or anywhere else should not be deciding national policy.

Altogether, these provisions would help restore federal courts to their core purpose: administering justice under the rule of law—not deciding nationwide policy.