Vice President JD Vance sent another warning to “rogue” federal judges who he feels are abusing their authority to improperly impede President Donald Trump as head of the Executive Branch.
So far, the courts have blocked Trump’s efforts to end birthright citizenship, freeze federal grants, and overhaul federal agencies like USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Over the weekend, the administration faced another setback when a federal judge temporarily restricted Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing the Treasury Department’s extensive federal payment system, which holds sensitive information about millions of Americans, ABC News reported.
Musk accused the judge of corruption and called for his immediate impeachment.
Vance has also spoken out against several of the judges who he believes are improperly encroaching on Executive Branch authority.
“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 said over the weekend, per ABC.
On Sunday, Trump was asked about Vance’s comments and his court setbacks.
“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,” the president added. “It’s a disgrace.”
Republicans are largely united in their support of the president. Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton criticized the judge who blocked DOGE’s access to Treasury data, calling him an “outlaw.” Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, mostly defended Musk’s actions on CNN Sunday, asserting that he was “carrying out the will” of the president who appointed him.