Watch Live: Trump praises Supreme Court decision limiting use of nationwide injunctions
President Trump praised the Supreme Court for its decision Friday limiting the ability of federal judges to impose nationwide injunctions, calling it a “monumental victory for the Constitution.”
In comments at the White House, the president said Friday, “This morning, the Supreme Court has delivered a monumental victory for the Constitution, the separation of powers, and the rule of law in striking down the excessive use of nationwide injunctions to interfere with the normal functioning of the executive branch.”
The Supreme Court on Friday curbed the use of nationwide injunctions by federal judges, a practice the president and his allies have railed against as blocking or hindering their agenda. In a 6-3 decision that stemmed from the president’s executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship, the Supreme Court said universal injunction orders likely exceeded the authority Congress has given the federal courts.
Mr. Trump called the use of nationwide injunctions “a grave threat to democracy, frankly.”
Thanks to this decision, the president said the administration can “now promptly file to proceed with numerous policies that have been wrongly enjoined on a nationwide basis,” including his effort to end birthright citizenship. Attorney General Pam Bondi predicted the Supreme Court would “most likely” rule on the merits of the birthright citizenship case during the next Supreme Court term, which begins this fall.
Mr. Trump repeated a statement he often makes about birthright citizenship, a provision of the 14th Amendment, saying that it’s no longer being used as it was originally intended. “Hundreds of thousands of people are pouring into our country under birthright citizenship, and it wasn’t meant for that reason,” he said. “It was meant for the babies of slaves.”
The president thanked Barrett for writing the opinion “brilliantly,” and also the justices who sided with her.
In the dissenting opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, “No right is safe in the new legal regime the Court creates. Today, the threat is to birthright citizenship. Tomorrow, a different administration may try to seize firearms from law-abiding citizens or prevent people of certain faiths from gathering to worship,” and the court’s ruling means that “absent cumbersome class-action litigation, courts cannot completely enjoin even such plainly unlawful policies unless doing so is necessary to afford the formal parties complete relief.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche also applauded other Supreme Court rulings, including a decision Friday to allow parents in a Maryland school district to opt their children out of storybooks based on objections to their approach to gender and sexuality.
“I think the ruling was a great ruling, and I think it’s a great ruling for parents,” the president said.
The president addressed other topics beyond the Supreme Court rulings, too, including his administration’s tariffs and his trade negotiations with other countries. Although the president indicated his administration is close to deals with several countries, he said at some point in the next week and a half, his administration will be sending letters to some countries “and tell them what they have to pay.”
On Iran, the president expressed support for any new agreement with Iran, including a provision that the International Atomic Energy Agency — or “somebody” approved by the U.S. — act as an independent inspector to examine Iranian nuclear facilities.
One reporter asked the president if he would consider bombing Iran again, if U.S. intelligence shows the country can still enrich uranium to a level that concerns him.
“Sure,” Mr. Trump responded. “Without question.”
At the NATO summit in the Netherlands earlier this week, the president said the U.S. would have talks with Iran “next week,” but on Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said there are currently no plans for formal talks or meetings.
contributed to this report.