Executive Orders Halted: Are Judges Overstepping? | 3.23.25
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What executive orders are being blocked by judges?
Over the last few weeks, we've seen several district judges put a halt to some of President Trump's executive orders, including his dismantling of USAID, his firing of thousands of government workers, and his ban on people who identify as transgender from serving in the military. Do these judges have this authority, or is this judicial overreach?
In this episode, we speak with the Manhattan Institute's Ilya Shapiro about the Trump administration's multi-front battles with the courts. I'm Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Sunday, March 23rd, and this is a weekend edition of Morning Wire.
Who is Ilya Shapiro and what expertise does he bring?
Joining us now to discuss the Trump team's legal battles is Ilya Shapiro, Director of Constitutional Studies at the Manhattan Institute and the author of the book Lawless, the Miseducation of America's Elites. Ilya, thank you so much for coming on. Sure, my pleasure. Now, we've seen a flood of judges' orders blocking the Trump administration's various attempts to enact his agenda on things like dismantling USAID, firing thousands of workers, banning trans-identifying people from the military. First, do these judges have the authority to impede the executive branch?
Do judges have the authority to halt executive orders?
It depends. I mean, I'm sorry to, I can't generalize more than that, but the facts of the case and the specific legal authorities are different as between Doge cutting funding versus the president putting in new personnel policies for the military. But in general, what we've seen is a lot of judicial resistance, if you will, to the administration's actions. In fact, there have been more TROs, temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions in these first eight weeks or two months of the Trump administration than we saw in all four years of President Biden. So I'm sure there are edge cases where the Justice Department or other administration lawyers are pushing through the envelope, not just pushing the envelope.
But in a lot of these cases, I think there is overreach, which doesn't mean that it's improper to go to court if you want to challenge something. But some of these rulings, particularly issuing TROs, which are supposed to be unreviewable on appeal, which is why the Supreme Court has had to get involved a couple of times, really are exceptional, let's say.
I'd like to get into some of those specific cases in a second. But before that, another kind of broad question. If you were advising the president, how would you counsel him on structuring future EOs to better protect them from legal challenges?
How can the President protect executive orders from legal challenges?
Well, the executive orders have been very well lawyered. I mean, I was very pleasantly surprised. I was expecting an onslaught, but it even exceeded my expectations how well the administration and its lawyers, the transition team, used that period, the lame duck period, to prepare this stuff. Ultimately, most of this, the administration is going to prevail, whether it's DEI or the energy drilling or these things that we've already mentioned. They're on pretty solid ground. And so we're kind of arguing around the around the edges of whether that plane full of Venezuelan gang members had already left American territorial waters and whether that's legally significant, things like that. Right. That's really where the real debate is. It isn't in the heart of the substance of executive power to affect the executive branch.
Got it. Now, one more general question. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has suggested that Congress strip these federal courts of their jurisdiction. Is that truly an option on the table?
Can Congress strip federal courts of their jurisdiction?
Well, it's hard to see anything of substance or of controversy passing a filibuster in the Senate. So practically it's dead in the water. I would like to see, for example, a three judge court necessary to issue a universal or national injunction or something like that. Because it really is unseemly to have one judge or a handful of judges in places like Boston and D.C. and Seattle that are selected to be on the far left edge of the judiciary more broadly controlling all of federal policy.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What executive orders are being blocked by judges?
0:03–0:41
2
Who is Ilya Shapiro and what expertise does he bring?
0:41–1:13
3
Do judges have the authority to halt executive orders?
1:13–2:29
4
How can the President protect executive orders from legal challenges?
2:29–3:30
5
Can Congress strip federal courts of their jurisdiction?
3:30–4:39
6
What is the status of Trump's actions against USAID?
4:39–5:59
7
How is the Trump administration handling deportation legal battles?
5:59–10:17
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from Morning Wire
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