Newt Gingrich Warns Of 'Constitutional Crisis' Due To Judges Blocking Trump Actions

2 days ago

At today's House Judiciary Committee hearing, former Speaker Newt Gingrich spoke about alleged judicial overreach in federal courts blocking President Trump's actions.

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00:00and Scanlon and all the members of the subcommittees for allowing me to testify.

00:04There is clearly a potential constitutional crisis involving the judicial branch's effort

00:10to fully override the legislative and executive branches.

00:13Fifteen district judges effectively seized control of various executive branch duties

00:18in the first six weeks of the current presidency through nationwide injunctions.

00:23This is potentially a judicial coup d'etat.

00:26It clearly violates the Constitution and more than 200 years of American history.

00:31To set the stage for this hearing, let me mention 12 former federal judges appointed

00:36by President John Adams.

00:38Richard Bassett, Egbert Benson, Benjamin Born, William Griffith, Samuel Hitchcock, Philip

00:44Barton Kaye, Jeremiah Smith, George Keith Taylor, Oliver Wilcott Jr., Williams McClung,

00:50Charles McGill, and Williams Tillman.

00:54President Adams appointed these federal judges on his way out of office to hamstring the

01:00incoming President Thomas Jefferson's agenda.

01:03President Jefferson concluded that impeaching the judges would take too much time.

01:07He and the Congress simply abolished the courts in which they served via the Judiciary Act

01:13of 1802.

01:14This is a constitutional balance of power.

01:17The legislative and executive branches can reshape the judiciary branch.

01:21It is a useful reminder in considering the current situation.

01:25Unelected lower court judges have been steadily grabbing power for years.

01:29It was such an obvious threat that in 2012, Vince Haley and I wrote, Bringing the Court

01:33Back Under the Constitution.

01:35It is an historic study, which I am submitting for the record.

01:39According to Harvard Law Review, there were 96 nationwide injunctions ordered by district

01:44courts from 2001 to 2023.

01:48Two-thirds of them, 64, were issued during President's time in office.

01:52Furthermore, 92% of the injunctions against President Trump were issued by judges appointed

01:57by Democratic presidents.

01:59Since January 20, 2025, lower courts have imposed 15 nationwide injunctions against

02:05the current Trump administration.

02:07This is compared to 6 during George W. Bush's 8 years, 12 during Barack Obama's 8 years,

02:13and 14 during Joe Biden's 4-year term.

02:16The notion that unelected lawyers can micromanage the executive branch and override a commander-in-chief

02:22who received 77.3 million votes should trouble every American.

02:28This is particularly troubling for issues of national defense and public safety.

02:32Around 500 B.C., Sun Tzu asserted in The Art of War that, quote, speed is the essence of

02:37war.

02:38How can the United States have speed in national security issues if opponents can judge shop

02:43to find someone ambitious or arrogant enough to block, repudiate, or delay the president's

02:48decisions?

02:49There are 677 authorized district judgeships.

02:53How many think they can override duly elected presidents?

02:57This summary statement has four propositions.

02:59First, the courts have often been challenged.

03:02President Jefferson wrote, quote, judges as the ultimate arbiters of all constitutional

03:06questions would place us under the despotism of an oligarchy, close quote.

03:11President Andrew Jackson was in constant fights with the Supreme Court.

03:15President Abraham Lincoln made the Dred Scott decision expanding slavery, a centerpiece

03:19of his 1858 senatorial campaign.

03:22In his first inaugural, President Lincoln warned that if the Supreme Court held supreme

03:25rule, quote, the people will have ceased to be their own rulers, having to that extent

03:30practically resigned their government into the hands of that eminent tribunal, close

03:34quote.

03:35Second, as the Judiciary Act of 1802 proves, the legislative and executive branches can

03:42constitutionally defend their rights, and they have in the past.

03:45It is historically and constitutionally wrong to think the legislative and executive branches

03:50are helpless against judiciary actions.

03:53Third, the Supreme Court could intervene to eliminate this attack on the executive branch

03:58by district judges.

03:59Chief Justice Roberts could end the growing confrontation by establishing a rule that

04:04any nationwide injunction issued by a district court against the executive branch would be

04:09suspended in implementation and immediately taken up by the Supreme Court.

04:13This would remedy the lengthy appeals process.

04:15Fourth, the Congress and the President can take decisive steps toward bringing the judiciary

04:20back into a constitutional framework.

04:23This hearing is a good first step.

04:24There could be a series of hearings on the constitutional and historic framework, which

04:29ensures no single branch of government can acquire dictatorial powers, specifically the

04:34judiciary in this committee.

04:36These hearings would educate the members and the American people.

04:39They would create a national understanding of the need to defend the Constitution against

04:42overreaching branches of government.

04:44I would also recommend that the Congress pass Chairman Issa's No Rogue Rulings Act, which

04:50is a good signal to the courts that they have gone too far.

04:53Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.

Newt Gingrich Warns Of 'Constitutional Crisis' Due To Judges Blocking Trump Actions

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