With scholars warning that President Donald Trump’s actions may create a constitutional crisis and the vice president questioning the courts’ authority over the White House, CNN’s top MAGA defender declared that Trump should “absolutely defy” judges who block his executive orders.
“Should the president, the singular president, should he have to share the presidency with 300 district court judges? No. Absolutely not,” CNN political commentator Scott Jennings proclaimed on Monday night.
Just on Monday, five different judges across the country issued temporary blocks on five different Trump executive orders. The rulings involved Trump’s attempt to overturn birthright citizenship, funding cuts to the NIH, the “deferred resignation” program for federal employees, the firing of a government ethics watchdog, and the federal funding freeze.
Regarding the funding freeze, a Rhode Island judge said that the Trump administration defied his restraining order to keep billions of dollars in federal funds flowing, noting that his January 29 order was “clear and unambiguous, and there are no impediments to the Defendants’ compliance.” While the president’s lawyers asked an appellate court to pause the judge’s order, a White House spokesperson said that “each executive order will hold up in court” and “any legal challenge against it is nothing more than an attempt to undermine the will of the American people.”
“Are the federal courts institutionally up to the job of checking President Trump’s current wave of lawlessness?” Lawfare editor Benjamin Wittes asked in a Monday article, while other legal experts warn of a potential “breakdown” of the system.
CNN political commentator Scott Jennings backs the Trump administration’s defiance of court orders blocking the president’s executive actions. (CNN)
Seemingly backing other Trump allies and officials who have urged the president to resist “judicial interference” and perhaps even remove judges who oppose Trump’s orders, Jennings said it was within the president’s purview to simply ignore the courts.
During a panel discussion on CNN Newsnight with Abby Phillip, Jennings insisted that former President Joe Biden had “ignored” the courts when they overruled some of his executive actions.
“He did not ignore it, though. He went and tried under a different law,” CNN legal analyst Elie Honig retorted, prompting Jennings to again claim that Biden “ignored” the Supreme Court overturning his executive orders on student loan forgiveness.
“He literally defied it,” Jennings exclaimed during a back-and-forth with Honig and Johnson.
“But let me just understand where you where you stand. If a district court judge rules in a way that the president dislikes, should the president listen, or should the president defy,” Honig wondered.
“If a district court judge tries to usurp the authority of the chief executive of this country, he should absolutely defy it,” Jennings responded. “There’s a difference between broad policy decisions and discreet disputes between parties. That’s the difference. If I want a policy decided, I’ll take it to the Supreme Court.”
After Johnson wondered about “checks and balances,” Jennings shot back: “Of a district court judge? Who elected them?!”
Eventually, anchor Abby Philip interjected to note that she did not “get” why the Trump-boosting pundit was “talking in these bizarre, broad generalities,” adding that each of these recent court cases “deals with a discrete issue” and executive order.
“Every single one of these things is a distinct thing, and they’re all being dealt with by different judges. So it’s not broad swaths of policy here,” she added.
“It is,” Jennings objected.
“When the court says Congress…appropriated this money, you must unfreeze it while we litigate this, why can’t Trump comply with that?” Phillip asked.
“So you’re saying that a judge should decide how and when money is spent for years and not the President of the United States?” Jennings grumbled, prompting the discussion to continue to break down over the next few minutes.
