Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital this week that he remains confident there will be a sunset to the trend of nationwide injunctions by federal judges whose rulings reverberate far beyond their judicial districts.
“Universal injunctions are an unconstitutional abuse of judicial power,” Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Digital.
“Just this past week, a D.C. district judge issued a universal injunction blocking the president’s executive order requiring voter ID or proof-of-citizenship prior to voting in national elections.”
That ruling ignores the idea that “judges are not policymakers,” he said.
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“Allowing them to assume this role is very dangerous.”
With the Supreme Court primed to hear a case on May 15 regarding nationwide injunctions on President Donald Trump‘s order reinterpreting birthright citizenship, Grassley noted the high bench “could and should take action.”
“In the meantime, I’m continuing to work with my colleagues to advance my critical Judicial Relief Clarification Act (JRCA) and put an end to universal injunctions,” he said.
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While some proponents had suggested using the reconciliation process to force through Grassley’s bill in a closely divided Senate, that would be prohibited because of the so-called “Byrd Rule” barring non-financial bills from going through the process, according to a person familiar with the reconciliation process.
The May 15 case challenges precedent from the 1898 ruling in U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark – which defined birthright citizenship in a broad context after Wong, a child of Chinese immigrants, was denied entry to San Francisco after returning from China.
Judges in Massachusetts, Maryland and Washington state issued nationwide injunctions blocking Trump’s birthright citizenship order, while the president defended his move, saying the 14th Amendment section outlining the idea was clearly directed at former slaves.
In March, Grassley first spoke against what he called the promotion of unchecked judicial power after Senate Minority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., requested passage of a resolution ordering Trump to comply with all federal court rulings.
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“The President of the United States shouldn’t have to ask permission from more than 600 different district judges to manage the executive branch he was elected to lead,” Grassley responded.
“I happen to agree with some Democrats that in previous years have said some judges have gone way beyond what a judge should do on national injunctions. I hope to find a solution for that, and I hope that you and I could work on that together,” he added.
