The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that seeks to limit the powers of “rogue” activist judges attempting to undermine the authority of President Donald Trump.
The No Rogue Rulings Act, led by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and backed by Trump, aims to limit federal district judges’ ability to affect Trump administration policies on a national scale.
The legislation passed the House Wednesday evening.
All but one Republican voted for the bill, which passed 219 to 213.
No Democrat lawmakers voted in favor.
The bill limits district courts’ power to issue U.S.-wide injunctions.
Instead, federal judges will be forced to focus their scope on the parties directly affected in most cases.
Since the president took office, the Trump administration has faced more than 15 nationwide injunctions from Democrat-aligned activist judges.
The politically motivated injunctions have been targeting a wide range of Trump’s policies
Those policies have ranged from birthright citizenship reform to anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
Issa was confident the bill would pass.
In a statement on Tuesday morning, the congressman said: “We’ve got the votes.”
He was less certain of the bill getting Democrat support, however.
Yet, he noted former Biden administration solicitor general Elizabeth Prelogar made her own complaints about district judges’ powers during the previous White House term.
“We’re hoping some people look at it on its merits rather than its politics,” Issa said.
Rep. Derek Schmidt (R-KS) has an amendment on the bill aimed at limiting plaintiffs’ ability to “judge shop” cases to favorable districts.
Schmidt said before the vote, “A lot of things get called commonsense around here, but this one genuinely is.”
“The basic policy of trying to rein in the overuse of nationwide injunctions was supported by Democrats before.
“It’s supported by Republicans now, and I’m hoping [this vote will] be supported by both,” he said.
Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX), like Schmidt and Issa, is a House Judiciary Committee member.
After the bill’s passage, Gooden said in a statement:
“Many Democrat-appointed lower court judges have conducted themselves like activist liberal lawyers in robes while attempting to stop President Trump’s nationwide reforms.
“The No Rogue Rulings Act limits this unchecked power.”
In another statement, Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) said:
“More than 77 million Americans voted for [Trump’s] pro-American policies and want to see them implemented quickly.
“There is no reason that activist judges whose authority does not extend nationally should be allowed to completely stop [his] agenda.”
Republicans’ unity on the issue comes despite some early divisions over how to hit back at what they have called “rogue” and “activist” judges.
Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN), who supports impeaching the judges, said:
“The judicial vendetta against President Trump’s agenda needs to be checked.
“Nationwide injunctions by activist judges have stood in the way of the American people’s will and, in some cases, their safety, since the president was sworn into office.”
Stutzman said Issa’s bill “will stop individual judge’s political beliefs from preventing the wants and needs of our citizens from being implemented.”
A group of conservatives had pushed to impeach specific judges who had blocked Trump’s agenda.
However, House GOP leaders quickly quashed the effort in favor of what they see as a more effective route to take on the issue.
Despite its success in the House, however, the legislation does face uncertain odds in the Senate.
In the Senate, it needs at least several Democrats to back the bill to hit the chamber’s 60-vote threshold.
