'Back-channel with Trump': GOP hardliners discussing 'all available options' to fight federal judges

21 March

President Donald Trump, much to the frustration of Democrats, returned to Washington on January 20 with GOP majorities in both branches of the Congress. But they're small majorities.

In the U.S. Senate, Republicans have a 53-47 majority — which is large enough to get Trump's most controversial nominees confirmed, but not enough to overcome the 60-vote demand of the filibuster. Nor is it enough to get a "guilty" vote in an impeachment.

Trump and some of his allies, including billionaire Tesla/SpaceX/X.com leader Elon Musk, are calling for the impeachment of federal judges who are blocking, at least temporarily, some of the president's executive orders. But if federal judges were to be indicted on articles on impeachment in the U.S. House of Representatives, Republicans wouldn't have enough votes for a "guilty" verdict in the U.S. Senate.

According to Politico reporters Meredith Lee Hill, Hailey Fuchs and Jordain Carney, however, GOP lawmakers are thinking about ways to attack federal judges other than impeachment.

"Top Republicans are likely to put at least one bill, California Rep. Darrell Issa’s 'No Rogue Rulings Act,' on the floor in early April, according to two people granted anonymity to discuss scheduling plans," the journalists explain in an article published on March 21. "The legislation would crack down on the ability of lower-court judges to issue far-reaching injunctions. That is seen by Speaker Mike Johnson and other House Republican leaders as a viable outlet as they sort out the way forward on the judicial impeachments that have been endorsed by Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk. A spokesperson for Johnson said the speaker and the Judiciary Committee are reviewing 'all available options.… to address this urgent matter.'"

Hill, Fuchs and Carney continued, "House Republicans have filed impeachment resolutions targeting four district judges, including one this week targeting the jurist who sought to block Trump's effort to deport alleged gang members to El Salvador.… But there is widespread recognition inside the House GOP that impeachments — besides being costly in time and political capital — do not have the votes to succeed given Republicans' narrow majority. That has prompted GOP hardliners to back-channel with Trump allies on alternatives they could push across the House floor."

House Republicans, according to the Politico journalists, "are also discussing one-off resolutions condemning recent judicial rulings against Trump."

"House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan's team has privately advised that members' offices are free to share their opinions on legislative strategy around the courts but that Jordan himself intends to stick to a more vague approach, saying everything is on the table, according to one Republican Hill aide," Hill, Fuchs and Carney explain. "There is, however, a particular interest in restricting the authority of federal district judges to hand down nationwide injunctions, according to four Republicans familiar with the matter."

Read the full Politico article at this link.

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