'Very clear line': GOP senator says MAGA Republicans must obey federal courts

12 February

President Donald Trump issued countless executive orders after beginning his second term on January 20, and some of them are being temporarily blocked in the courts — from declaring an end to birthright citizenship (which is protected by the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment) to cuts to medical research funding.

Some of Trump's allies, including Vice President JD Vance and billionaire Space-X/Tesla/X.com CEO Elon Musk — who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — are attacking federal judges in response. When a pro-Trump X user called for federal judges to be "impeached by Congress," Musk responded, "It's time."

Vance, in a February 9 post on X (formerly Twitter), wrote, "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."

But Sen. Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota), himself a conservative Trump ally, is saying that federal judges' rulings must be obeyed.

During a Tuesday, February 11 appearance on MSNBC, Rounds argued, "I think it's a very, very clear line between the powers that are there, that are appropriate. This president is saying, 'I believe I have the authority.' You find out in a court of law and if they are appropriate, you move forward with them."

Rounds didn't criticize Trump's executive orders during the interview, but he did express his opposition to defying federal judges.

Asked if lawmakers need to follow federal court rulings, he responded, "We have to. We will follow the decisions of the court, and I don't think there's been anybody saying no."

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