Allies of US President Donald Trump have criticised judges for blocking the government’s plans, threatening to take action against them.
In a post on X, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller referred to “out-of-control Marxist judges” whom he accused of thwarting the will of the people. “This must be stopped,” he stated.
Since Trump took office, judges have repeatedly halted his plans. Last weekend, Judge James Boasberg ordered the return of a plane carrying alleged members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang, who were flown to El Salvador.
Trump had ordered their deportation under the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 statute intended to bolster the president’s ability to deport foreign nationals from countries with which the United States is at war.
Despite the judicial order, the plane did not return. Boasberg demanded an explanation from the government, prompting Trump to declare angrily that the “radical-left lunatic of a judge” should be removed.
Stephen Miller, the White House Deputy Chief of Staff, intensified his criticism on Thursday. “By what theory of the Constitution does a single Marxist judge in San Francisco have the same executive power as the Commander-in-Chief elected by the entire nation to lead the executive branch?” he wrote on X.
Disregarding fundamental principles of the rule of law and the separation of powers between the three branches of government – executive, judicial and legislative – Miller also mentioned “judicial tyranny.”
Other presidential allies have not been standing idly by. Republican Senator Josh Hawley said on X that local judges are abusing their power by making nationwide binding decisions against the government. “I will introduce a bill to put an end to these abuses once and for all,” he announced.
House speaker Mike Johnson, also a Republican, said “activist judges” posed a threat to the rule of law and that he looked forward to reviewing “all available options under the Constitution to address this urgent matter.”
