Issue One responds to Supreme Court ruling limiting judiciary’s ability to block unconstitutional orders

In response to today’s Supreme Court ruling limiting the ability of federal judges to issue nationwide injunctions, Issue One Vice President of Advocacy Alix Fraser issued the following statement:

“By limiting the use of nationwide injunctions, this ruling empowers current and future presidents from any party to issue blatantly unconstitutional executive orders — at least temporarily — while those policies wind their way through a slow and uncertain legal process. It’s a dangerous reshaping of how our democracy functions.

“In effect, the Court is saying that even if an executive order is unconstitutional, a single federal judge can no longer block it from taking effect nationwide. That makes it easier for presidents to test the limits of the law without immediate consequences — assuming the Supreme Court will eventually step in. But eventually may be too late.

“In recent months, we’ve seen a clear pattern of Congress ceding its constitutional responsibilities. Lawmakers have given up their powers of the purse, allowed the executive branch to essentially shutter government agencies without congressional approval, and have neglected to provide oversight when the executive branch oversteps its bounds.

“What we’re left with is a paralyzed Congress, ever-expanding presidential powers, and a judiciary that has made itself less capable than it was yesterday of striking down illegal policies.

“We need Congress to reassert its role as a coequal branch of government. Without meaningful checks, we risk normalizing a system in which the president alone decides what the Constitution means.”