'Lawless': VP’s 'closest ideological compatriot' in Senate warns Trump against defying judges

11 February

Several of President Donald Trump's executive actions have failed to pass muster in the federal courts, and Vice President JD Vance is now suggesting that judges' rulings be ignored. This idea is alarming even some of Trump's biggest supporters in the U.S. Senate.

The Daily Beast reported Tuesday that Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) is now publicly urging Trump to abide by federal judges' decisions, even if they're unfavorable. In a recent interview with Business Insider's Bryan Metzger, the Missouri Republican said that while it was "understandable" for Trump to be upset with judges overruling his executive orders, outright ignoring them would be a precursor to a "lawless" society. The Trump administration has already defied a court order to release funds that Congress has already appropriated, with a top Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) official ordering millions in FEMA grant money be frozen hours after U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell demanded that the money be released.

"I think you can dislike the court’s opinion and think they’re wrong on the substance, and criticize them for that, and you certainly can vigorously appeal,” Hawley said. “I think outright, sort of just like, ‘Oh, we’re just going to completely ignore the decision?’ That, I think you can’t do. Andrew Jackson did that, infamously. He was wrong on that. That was the Trail of Tears. That was lawless. That was wrong.”

Business Insider reporter Bryan Metzger called Hawley "Vance's closest ideological compatriot in the Senate," and remarked that the quote was particularly noteworthy given that the Missouri senator has "mostly backed up what the Trump [administration] has been doing."

Hawley's comments come on the heels of Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) insisting that the power of the purse still lies with Congress, as stated in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. Paul told HuffPost reporter Igor Bobic that while he thinks centabillionaire Elon Musk's "Department of Government Efficiency" (which is not yet a Congressionally authorized federal agency) is "really doing good stuff," it should be up to Congress to decide how any money clawed back will be spent.

"So, for example, they can cancel contracts and all stuff. That's great, but now the money's sitting there," Paul said. "If the money's sitting there, there is a question, is it impounded, or is it going to be sent back as a rescission package? A rescission package, if it comes back to us as a privileged vote, and it's a simple majority, and that's ideally the way it would be done.”

Click here to read the Daily Beast's report in full (subscription required).

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