The Trump admin is furious with the courts. They are slowing down the executive branch’s progress.
That’s why U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi put radical Leftist judges on notice with one comment.
Courts Deliberately Drag Their Feet as Trump Returns to Power, Bondi Charges
With Donald Trump back in the White House, the federal judiciary seems to be flexing its muscles, intentionally slowing down his administration’s agenda, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi. The Trump team is scrambling to push through key policies—like deporting Venezuelan nationals under wartime powers—only to find courts throwing up roadblocks at every turn. Bondi, speaking on Fox News Wednesday, didn’t mince words, accusing judges of overstepping their bounds and meddling in matters they have no business touching.
“This has been a pattern with these liberal judges,” Bondi said, naming U.S. District Judges James Boasberg and Tanya Chutkan among others. “They’re meddling in foreign affairs. They’re meddling in our government.” Her frustration echoes a growing sentiment within the administration and among Trump’s allies, who see the courts’ reluctance to act swiftly as a calculated move to undermine the president now that he’s back in office.
Take the deportation fight, for instance. The Trump administration is begging the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn Boasberg’s order blocking Trump from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans. Justice Department lawyers argue Boasberg—an Obama appointee—is wrecking Trump’s plans, damaging alliances, and threatening national security. They wanted an immediate reversal.
Instead, the three-judge panel, including appointees from Presidents George H.W. Bush, Obama, and Trump, scheduled a hearing for Monday afternoon—hardly the urgent response the administration demanded. To Bondi and the White House, this delay is proof the courts are choosing to be difficult now that Trump’s in charge again.
“We’ll get to the Supreme Court as fast as we can and we’ll prevail,” Bondi vowed on Fox News. “We will appeal through the process but we do anticipate getting there quickly. We do need the Supreme Court.” Her confidence rests on hopes that the conservative-leaning high court, with three Trump-appointed justices, will deliver victories where lower courts won’t. But even that’s not a sure bet—more on that later.
The deportation case isn’t the only example. The same D.C. Circuit panel brushed off an emergency request from Trump’s team to stop Judge Chutkan—another Obama appointee—from forcing Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to spill details on its leadership and operations. Musk and his allies called Chutkan’s order “unusual and highly invasive,” asking for an instant halt before her April 2 deadline.
The panel, featuring Bush appointee Karen Henderson, Obama appointee Patricia Millett, and Trump appointee Justin Walker, ignored the plea for speed. They set a leisurely briefing schedule stretching to March 25, with no hearing date in sight. To Bondi, it’s another sign the courts are digging in their heels.
This pattern stretches beyond Washington. Across the country, appeals courts are shrugging off Trump’s cries of a separation-of-powers crisis. The 9th Circuit in California refused to rush an order rehiring terminated probationary employees. The 1st Circuit in Massachusetts took its time—nine days—before denying an emergency bid to lift a spending freeze ruling by Judge John McConnell, another Obama pick.
Justice Department lawyers called McConnell’s decision “intolerable judicial overreach,” but the appeals court didn’t budge. They also rejected a fast-tracked attempt to cut education grants tied to diversity efforts, dismissing the administration’s case as “speculation and hyperbole.”
Even the Supreme Court, despite its conservative tilt, hasn’t been the quick fix Trump’s team hoped for. It declined to intervene when lower courts forced the administration to pay foreign aid contractors, despite dire warnings about executive power. Chief Justice John Roberts set a drawn-out timeline to review Trump’s bid to strip birthright citizenship from some immigrant children—a far cry from the rapid action the White House wanted. And when a judge blocked Trump from firing an ethics watchdog, the justices left the official in place until the D.C. Circuit finally stepped in.
Bondi’s outrage is shared by Trump and his MAGA supporters, who’ve taken to Truth Social and airwaves to vent. “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 posted Thursday. Some allies, fed up with losses, urge him to ignore court rulings altogether—a risky move that hasn’t yet come to pass.
There are rare wins. The 4th Circuit in Virginia greenlit two Trump orders targeting diversity practices in government, and the D.C. Circuit let him fire a federal watchdog. But these feel like exceptions to Bondi’s main gripe: the courts, she insists, are deliberately gumming up the works now that Trump’s back. With the administration racing to the Supreme Court for relief, Bondi’s betting on a friendlier audience. Whether that pans out remains to be seen—but for now, the judiciary’s slow pace has her, and Trump, seeing red.
The Federalist Wire will update you on any further comments from the Trump administration.
