Speaker Johnson warns Congress may defund or disband rogue courts targeting Trump

By willowt // 2025-03-26

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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) warns that Congress has constitutional authority to defund or dismantle federal courts, citing a "judicial insurrection" against President Trump.
Congress last used its Article III powers during Reconstruction to reshape courts; Republicans now face activist judges issuing nationwide injunctions to block Trump’s agenda.
Since January, Trump has faced 137 lawsuits — double his first term — with only two resolved, stalling executive actions on policy, appointments and national security.
Conservative legal experts accuse left-wing judges of acting as policymakers, with cases like D.C. Judge Amir Ali’s $2B foreign contract ruling exemplifying judicial overreach.
Conservatives urge SCOTUS to ban nationwide injunctions, while Johnson threatens legislative action if courts continue obstructing Trump’s administration.

The American constitutional order is under siege—not from foreign adversaries, but from an entrenched judicial elite hellbent on sabotaging the Trump administration at every turn. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has had enough. In a fiery declaration Tuesday, Johnson invoked Congress’ constitutional authority to defund or even dismantle federal courts engaged in what conservative legal experts are calling a "judicial insurrection" against President Donald J. Trump.

Congress strikes back: The constitutional nuclear option

“We do have authority over the federal courts, as you know,” Speaker Johnson warned in a live interview. “We can eliminate an entire district court. We have power over funding for the courts and all these other things. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and Congress is going to act. So stay tuned for that.” Johnson’s threat is not mere bluster. Under Article III of the Constitution, Congress holds the power to shape the federal judiciary—including abolishing lower courts, stripping their jurisdiction, or cutting their budgets. This authority, rooted in the nation’s founding, was last seriously considered during the Reconstruction era, when Radical Republicans restructured Southern courts to combat Confederate sympathizers. Today, Republicans face a similar crisis: activist judges—many appointed by Obama and Biden—issuing nationwide injunctions at a record pace to paralyze Trump’s agenda. Since January 20, President Trump has faced 137 legal challenges—more than double the 65 nationwide injunctions that plagued his first term. Only two cases have been closed, leaving the administration bogged down in litigation over executive orders, personnel appointments and national security policies.

The Left’s lawless judiciary: A coordinated assault on democracy

Josh Hammer, senior counsel at the Article III Project, minced no words when describing the crisis on The War Room with Steve Bannon: “This is a full-on judicial insurrection… The first Trump administration from 2017 to 2021 faced 65 nationwide injunctions—more than the first 44 presidents combined. They’ve picked up in January as if they hadn’t lost a beat.” Hammer’s assessment is chillingly accurate. Left-wing judges—like D.C. District Judge Amir Ali, who attempted to force the Trump administration to pay $2 billion in foreign contracts—are acting as de facto policymakers, not impartial arbiters. Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily blocked Ali’s order, but the damage is already done: the judiciary has become a weaponized arm of the resistance. This is not how America’s system of checks and balances was designed to function. Thomas Jefferson, in an 1804 letter to Abigail Adams, warned that an overreaching judiciary would render it a “despotic branch.” Abraham Lincoln, in his first inaugural address, condemned judicial supremacy, declaring that allowing courts to dictate constitutional law would mean Americans had ceased to be “their own rulers.”

The path forward: Will SCOTUS rein in the chaos?

The Supreme Court’s recent intervention in Judge Ali’s case offers a glimmer of hope, but conservatives are demanding more. Hammer laid out the stakes: “Unless and until SCOTUS cleanly rules that lower courts cannot issue nationwide injunctions, we risk letting this whole second Trump administration get hamstrung… They must act.” The question now is whether Chief Justice Roberts and the Court will finally curb this judicial overreach—or if Congress will be forced to take drastic action. Speaker Johnson’s warning is a shot across the bow: If the courts continue their lawless crusade against Trump, the legislative branch will respond with the full weight of its constitutional authority.

A republic under attack

The Left’s judicial sabotage is not just an assault on President Trump — it’s an assault on the very foundations of American self-governance. If unelected judges can unilaterally veto presidential actions, democracy itself is a farce. Congress must act. The Supreme Court must act. And if they won’t, the American people must demand accountability—before the judiciary completes its coup. Sources include: YourNews.com JustSecurity.org TheGatewayPundit.com