Vance and Musk question judges’ authority over Trump, pushing U.S. towards constitutional crisis
Legal and constitutional experts warned Sunday that the United States could be headed toward a “constitutional crisis” or a “breakdown of the system” after Vice President JD Vance suggested judges don’t have jurisdiction over President Donald Trump’s “legitimate power.”
“If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal,” Vance wrote on X, adding, “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”
It wasn’t clear what judge or court order Vance was referring to or whether he was making a broad statement. Several of Trump’s sweeping agenda items have met legal roadblocks since he took office.
A spokesperson for Vance didn’t respond to questions seeking clarification.
Some of Trump’s executive orders have already been challenged in court in over two dozen lawsuits, and judges have temporarily halted a number of them. In the latest legal challenge, on Saturday, a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive Treasury Department payment systems and people’s personal data after 19 state attorneys general sued the administration.
Jamal Greene, a professor at Columbia Law School, pointed out that Vance wasn’t explicitly saying the Trump administration was ready to ignore court orders.
“I think the tweet, taken on its own terms, is empty because it refers to the ‘legitimate powers’ of the executive. And the whole question in these cases is whether the executive is acting legitimately or not,” Greene told NBC News.
“[Vance] has some cover in that sense,” Greene added. “He hasn’t promised unlawful behavior.”
Rick Pildes, a professor at New York University’s Law School, also highlighted Vance’s use of the words “legitimate powers” in his post but pointed out that the judiciary is the branch with the power to decide what a president can “legitimately” do or not do.
“Under the rule of law and the Constitution, it is the courts that determine whether some use of the executive power is lawful or not. That is the critical point,” Pildes said via email. [Continue reading…]