Free Republic

President Donald Trump defended his use of the power that comes with the presidential office, denying that he is “expanding” it while maintaining that he is “using it properly” in an interview on his first 100 days as the 47th president with TIME. Trump, who will have served 100 days of his second term on April 30, gave the extensive, bombshell interview to the outlet from the White House on Wednesday. The interview started off with a pointed question from TIME senior political correspondent Eric Cortellessa and editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs, who asked, “Why do you think you need more power?”...

During Trump’s first term, the Democrats had two major arrows in their quiver: The Russia Hoax and lawfare. When they weren’t falsely accusing him of being a Russian asset, they were using the courts to prevent him from acting. By doing so, they managed to hamstring almost all of his domestic actions. This time around, while the Russia Hoax is gone, we’re seeing lawfare on steroids, so much so that we can reasonably say that we’re living in a “kritarchy” (i.e., rule by judges). This is not what our Constitution intended. In just the last 24 hours, judges have held...

Here we go again—another judge sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong, derailing President Donald Trump’s efforts to make our elections secure. A federal judge in Washington, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly — a Bill Clinton appointee — just slammed the brakes on Trump’s executive order that would’ve required proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. Trump signed the order in March, pointing out that the U.S. “fails to enforce basic and necessary election protections” compared to countries like India or Brazil, which tie voter ID to biometric databases. He’s not wrong. There's no denying that our elections are a mess, with...

Donald Trump’s administration must facilitate the return of a second man wrongly deported to a prison in El Salvador, a federal judge has ruled, deepening a standoff between the courts and White House over the president’s radical immigration policies. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher said Wednesday the 20-year-old Venezuelan, along with multiple other migrants, was protected by a 2024 class action settlement prohibiting the deportation of migrants who arrived as unaccompanied minors until their asylum claims are fully adjudicated. His case comes amid a mounting political row over the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran returned to his native...

A federal judge in California on Thursday barred the Trump administration from denying or conditioning the use of federal funds to “sanctuary” jurisdictions, saying that portions of President Donald Trump's executive orders were unconstitutional. But Orrick, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, said this was essentially what government lawyers argued during Trump’s first term when the Republican issued a similar order. “Their well-founded fear of enforcement is even stronger than it was in 2017,” Orrick wrote, citing the executive orders as well as directives from Bondi, other federal agencies and Justice Department lawsuits filed against Chicago and New York....

A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump from implementing an executive order that requires voters to show documentation proving their U.S. citizenship to cast a ballot in federal elections. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, a Bill Clinton appointee, granted a preliminary injunction stopping the Trump administration from going forward with the proof-of-citizenship requirements as a lawsuit plays out, the Associated Press reported. The lawsuit, filed by the Democratic National Committee and leftist voting rights groups, claims that Trump’s order is “an unlawful action that threatens to uproot our tried-and-tested election systems and silence potentially millions of Americans.”

On Wednesday, Judge Beryl Howell excoriated DOJ lawyers and signaled that she may permanently block President Trump from taking action against Perkins Coie. Last month, President Trump stripped security clearances of the employees at DNC law firm Perkins Coie. Recall that Hillary Clinton and the DNC paid law firm Perkins Coie more than $1 million to hire oppo research firm Fusion GPS to peddle the bogus ‘Trump-Russia’ dossier during the 2016 election. Former British spy Christopher Steele compiled over a dozen memos alleging the Russians had blackmail on Trump and that his associates were conspiring with the Kremlin to win...

Two Democrat-appointed federal judges have extended temporary blocks on the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport criminal illegal aliens. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein has extended an April 9 order for another two weeks that bars the Trump administration from deporting illegal aliens being held in Southern District of New York without first providing them with an opportunity for a hearing. During a hearing Tuesday, Hellerstein, a President Bill Clinton appointee, criticized the Trump administration for its approach to deportations. “This is not the Inquisition, it’s not medieval times,” Hellerstein said. Until the New York court...

The Trump DOJ responded to a federal judge’s order demanding more details on its decision to deport MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador’s CECOT prison. On Tuesday evening Judge Paula Xinis, an Obama appointee, erupted on the Trump Administration after a conference to address the government’s dispute over discovery in the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case.

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Trump Administration to rehire Voice of America (VOA) and other affiliate news services staff. President Trump placed employees and contractors for government-funded Voice of America on leave last month. US District Judge Royce Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, said Voice of America is funded by Congress and Trump’s cuts to the agency are “a direct affront to the power of the legislative branch.”

A federal judge in New York on Tuesday extended his block on removal of Tren de Aragua gang members facing deportation under the Alien Enemies Act. US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, a 91-year-old Clinton appointee, blasted DOJ lawyers during a hearing on Tuesday and accused them throwing people out of the US “because of their tattoos.” Earlier this month Hellerstein blocked the removal of two alleged Tren de Aragua gang members in New York.

At 1:00am on Saturday, the Supreme Court of the USA issued an injunction [SEE HERE] blocking President Trump from deporting illegal aliens identified under the Alien Enemies Act. It was/is a bizarre order considering the lower court had not even ruled on the matter; worse yet, the Supreme Court created an imaginary “class” of aliens. Any illegal alien who happens to also be a gang member, or illegal alien who would ‘smartly’ now claim to be a gang member, is ultimately the beneficiary of a Supreme Court order blocking their removal or deportation. That’s how judicially insane this injunction is.As...

(Reuters) -A U.S. judge barred the Trump administration from rapidly deporting hundreds if not thousands of migrants to countries other than their own without giving them a chance to show they fear being persecuted, tortured or killed there. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy's preliminary injunction on Friday was the latest setback to an immigration crackdown launched by President Donald Trump when he took office on January 20.

The U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to weigh in on one of the most significant legal power plays in recent memory: whether individual federal trial judges can continue issuing nationwide injunctions that derail national policy. The high court’s move could mark a turning point in the Trump administration’s effort to rein in what it sees as activist judges stifling the will of the elected government. John Yoo, a law professor at UC Berkeley and former Justice Department official, broke down the issue during an appearance on Fox News, where he explained the gravity of the situation and why the Supreme...

The Supreme Court has agreed to examine the Trump administration’s challenge to judges issuing nationwide injunctions, setting a date for a case that could have a major impact on the president’s ability to carry out his agenda as well as on the entire country. This comes after three federal judges issued separate nationwide injunctions blocking an executive order by President Donald Trump ending birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants. On Thursday, the court consolidated the three cases into one and set oral arguments to examine the fundamental question of whether district judges can issue rulings that affect the...

The ACLU, despite SCOTUS determining DC was the improper jurisdiction, just filed ANOTHER motion seeking a new temp restraining order on behalf of the illegals. The ACLU argued Boasberg still has jurisdiction in the matter. Here is what the ACLU is seeking--and Boasberg just set a briefing schedule on the latest proposed TRO with a hearing set for Monday. "To provide notice to each class member that they have been designated as an 'alien enemy' under the Alien Enemies Act at least 30 days prior to any attempt to remove that class member from the United States under the AEA....

Acourt has temporarily blocked a ruling from U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan regarding the funding of former President Joe Biden's climate programs. The D.C. Court of Appeals halted the judge's Tuesday ruling that ordered Citibank to release billions of dollars in green bank grants as part of Biden's 2022 climate, tax and health care bill. Why It Matters The court's ruling is the latest development in an ongoing fight as President Donald Trump attempts to throw out Biden's climate and energy measures, and replace it with his cost-cutting and pro-coal agenda. Chutkan oversaw the president's now dismissed federal 2020 election...

A federal judge ruled against the Trump administration in the case that alleged fraud in a Biden-era clean energy program, unfreezing roughly $20 billion in funding meant to support projects like new solar energy arrays and efficiency upgrades for small businesses. Judge Tanya Chutkan on Tuesday ruled in favor of the eight nonprofits that sued Citibank and the Trump administration, finding that the Environmental Protection Agency unlawfully terminated the program. Chutkan ordered the congressionally appropriated funds to be unfrozen at 2 p.m. Thursday and distributed to the nonprofits they were originally intended for. The Trump administration said it will appeal....

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that his state will file a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's authority to impose sweeping tariffs that have set off a global trade war. The suit will argue that Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China or a 10% tariff on all imports is unlawful. The act enables a president to freeze and block transactions in response to foreign threats.

Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 @julie_kelly2 Breaking: As I have warned, Jeb Boasberg just filed an opinion finding Trump adm officials in contempt. 11:06 AM · Apr 16, 2025