Republican lawmakers take aim at nationwide injunctions

Ryan Tarinelli, CQ-Roll Call on Mar 25, 2025

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WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers are looking to curtail the power of federal district courts as President Donald Trump and his administration push back on rulings that have slowed his actions on immigration, the firing of federal probationary employees and efforts from the Department of Government Efficiency.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, in a social media post, said the chamber plans to vote next week on the bill from Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., which would limit the judiciary’s ability to issue injunctions that apply nationwide.

The Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee approved the bill earlier this month. But attention on the measure escalated after Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered a temporary halt to the removal of all noncitizens in U.S. custody who were targeted under the administration’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act.

Passing Issa’s legislation on the House floor would be a less severe response than pursuing impeachment against Boasberg, a move called for by right-wing lawmakers and Trump.

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan has not scheduled a committee vote on an impeachment resolution filed against Boasberg, but the Ohio Republican has been highlighting Issa’s bill, writing on social media that the measure would “stop radical judges from imposing nationwide injunctions on President Trump’s agenda.”

“We passed that bill out of the Judiciary Committee,” Jordan said. “Let’s make sure we get it to the President’s desk to sign!”

The bill would prohibit district courts from handing down injunctive relief orders that apply to parties that are not involved in the case. It has an exception for certain cases brought by multiple states.

Issa, who leads a House Judiciary subcommittee on the courts and other topics, pointed to Boasberg’s ruling in a statement arguing for the bill, saying the jurist “severely overstepped his authority.”

And on the Senate side, the office of Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said in a press release Monday that he introduced a bill that would prohibit nationwide injunctions by district courts.

Courts have slowed or temporarily paused a string of dramatic moves from the Trump administration, on moves that test the boundaries of presidential authority to reshape the government.

The Trump administration has criticized on social media and pushed back in court on rulings that have slowed their efforts. In one example, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to halt a district court ruling that required six federal departments and agencies to reinstate more than 16,000 federal probationary employees who had been fired.

The push for legislative action comes as critics warn that Trump has sought to expand executive power in a way that undercuts the rule of law, subverts the Constitution and raises the specter of authoritarianism, a dynamic that has sparked debate about whether the nation is facing a constitutional crisis.

Trump, who has maligned Boasberg on social media, has expressed support for action against nationwide injunctions.

“STOP NATIONWIDE INJUNCTIONS NOW, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. If Justice Roberts and the United States Supreme Court do not fix this toxic and unprecedented situation IMMEDIATELY, our Country is in very serious trouble!” Trump wrote on social media last week.

On the Senate side, a spokesperson for Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, said the “recent surge of sweeping decisions by district judges merits serious scrutiny.”

“The Senate Judiciary Committee will be closely examining this topic in a hearing and exploring potential legislative solutions in the weeks ahead,” Clare Slattery, a spokesperson for Grassley, said in a statement.

Jordan said in a Fox News interview that the panel plans to have hearings.

“There’s the broader issue of all these judges’ injunctions and then the decisions like Judge Boasberg, what he’s trying to do and how that case is working. We’re going to have hearings on all of that,” Jordan said.