Speaker Mike Johnson floats eliminating federal courts as GOP ramps up attacks on judges

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NBC News

March 25, 2025, 1:47 PM EDT


WASHINGTON — Facing pressure from his right flank to take on judges who have ruled against President Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Tuesday floated the possibility of Congress eliminating federal courts.

It’s the latest attack from Republicans on the federal judiciary, as courts have blocked a series of actions taken by the Trump administration. In addition to funding threats, Trump and his conservative allies have called for the impeachment of certain district court judges who have ruled against him, most notably U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who attempted to halt Trump from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan migrants.

“We do have the authority over the federal courts, as you know. We can eliminate an entire district court. We have power of funding over the courts and all these other things,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “But desperate times call for desperate measures, and Congress is going to act.”

Johnson, a former constitutional attorney, later clarified that he was making a point about Congress’ “broad authority” over the “creation, maintenance and the governance” of the courts. Article III of the Constitution established the Supreme Court but gave Congress the power to “ordain and establish” lower federal courts..

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/speaker-mike-johnson-floats-eliminating-federal-courts-rcna197986

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Johnson, a former constitutional attorney,

Someone who should be removed as Speaker of the House, expelled from Congress, and disbarred. This is what John Roberts hath wrought.

[FakeNoose]

1. Hey kids, let's eliminate the House of Representatives!

For that matter the entire US Congress is pretty useless. Let's eliminate them all.

[choie]

51. I was just going to scream

And then I saw your post. Thank you.

[Bluetus]

59. Johnson already did that.

Trump and Musk are doing whatever they want to do with no regard for any laws. And therefore, the lawmaking branch of government has become irrelevant.

[Justice matters.]

69. Irrelevant and Taxpayers's money-wasting +interests.

Where's dopy-doge on that?

[Bluetus]

73. I don't think we should encourage Musk to formally abolish COngress, but

every single Dem should understand that Job #1 is not about "reaching across the aisle" to compromise on some legislation. 90% of the job should be outside -- at rallies, at town halls, on talk shows, on podcasts, on social media.

When opportunities present themselves to use what remains of the Congressional structure, such as yesterday's hearings about the classified security break, we should do that. But that will be the exception to the rule.

Get outside. There isn't much for us inside the Capitol

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Maybe we don't need courts if we love lawlessness.

[J_William_Ryan]

3. "We do have the authority over the federal courts, as you know."

Yes, Republicans are fascists, comprehensively so – not just a few; Trump, Johnson, the whole lot.

[Born Free]

55. The republicans can stop this insanity any time

Republicans know what is going on, they know they are destroying USA credibilty throughout the world yet they continue to support Trump regardless of the outcome

[NotHardly]

4. We don't need no stinking courts.......

[PatSeg]

5. Damn, another day and another jaw dropping moment

They can't destroy the country fast enough.

[Bengus81]

19. Good thing Government is open! Oh wait............

[Turbineguy]

6. If we get rid of the Courts

It's only a mater of time until Johnson will have to find a real job.

[dweller]

8. Eliminate the courts

and Moses Johnson will soon have to seek a safe room



✌🏻

[pandr32]

7. Nothing like this should be allowed to float...

should be flushed right away.

[LymphocyteLover]

9. What a fucking fascist fuck. "Desperate times"????? They apparently are DESPERATE to destroy the Federal govt???

[Justice matters.]

70. And just like Putin in Russia, steal all the country's resources...

and keep the huge, gigantic pile of dollars and cents and gold bars for themselves.

Stop the kleptocrats.

[dweller]

10. Soooo ....we are already at 1933 of their plan ?

https://m.

🤔




✌🏻

[Karasu]

11. I dare the MSM and the GQP to try to spin this one as ANYTHING other than fascism in its purest form.

I fucking dare you.

[Bengus81]

22. And...can the MSM speak the H word yet?? Nah....better wait awhile

[NJCher]

12. I assure you that

Members of the federal court system hear this and their response will be about as positive as any "fired" employee. This kind of talk assures that the view of them as "rogue" is correct.

These people (GOP-ers_ really are living in a different universe. This morning there was a thread posted with a graphic of headlines of different right wing sources. I can't find it now, but their headlines mention nothing about the important news of the day, namely the Signal group meeting.

[highplainsdem]

13. JFC.

[Vinca]

14. What does Mike expect to get from this suggestion? A pat on the head from the Great Orange One?

A few of the original photos from Mel's naked "modeling" sessions to share with his son? Dumbest idea ever.

[bluestarone]

15. These fucking rethugs are out of their minds to even say something like this.

It's one thing to think it and a whole new world to say it! Jesus H Christ!!

[Skittles]

53. increasingly they are finding it very difficult to even pretend they care about democracy

yup

[barbtries]

16. after that,

we'll eliminate Democrats.

We can keep IVF and just farm eggs from suitable females, then eliminate them, keeping a few Handmaids for birthing purposes. We can just abort the females whenever they happen.

it's not enough to erase Black people from the public record - let's just eliminate them.

Let's just go ahead and destroy the Constitution and declare a new guiding document: Project 2025

Who the fuck ARE these people?!

[ShazzieB]

17. Say what?

Johnson, a former constitutional attorney, later clarified that he was making a point about Congress’ “broad authority” over the “creation, maintenance and the governance” of the courts. Article III of the Constitution established the Supreme Court but gave Congress the power to “ordain and establish” lower federal courts..

Oh, so "ordain and establish" are now synonyms for "annihilate and destroy"? Really, Mikey?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

35. "power"? I'd call it a **responsibility** to establish Federal courts. . . . . nt

[3825-87867]

40. "The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court,

and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.

Two key words open for reinterpretation - "inferior" plus "and"

Just like their reinterpretation of the 14th Amendment to not only allow tramp on a ballot, but give him immunity, those two words might be a problem.

First off, what is the constitutional definition of Inferior courts?
Secondly, does the comma preclude the Congress from dissolving the SCOTUS also? Reading the statement as Congress may ordain and establish (also remove?), it may read that interpretation could include removing the SCOTUS!

Don't believe it? Remember the 14th and the problems that caused.

I could interpret that as allowing the Congress to do what it will with "inferior courts" AND the SCOTUS -
"Invested in one Supreme Court AND in such inferior courts as the Congress may...
I'm sure they can't, But I was also sure tramp couldn't be on the ballot and the current pres doesn't have immunity from whatever.

Pretty sure how Roberts et al will rule on that one. Ok for we, but them ain't us.

[Grins]

18. The "Party of Law and Order!" Is not ever going to be not hilarious!

[erronis]

20. Mike Johnson, Reprehensive from the state of Louisiana want to go back to the antebellum

Last edited Tue Mar 25, 2025, 04:24 PM - Edit history (1)

Back when white gents like him could rule without those pesky federalists.

I'm sure it'll be "states rights for me, but not thee" when it comes to blue states breaking away from this fascist empire.

[neohippie]

21. They swear an oath to uphold the Constitution

These people who all swear an oath to faithfully defend and uphold the Constitution and the laws of the United States from enemies foreign and domestic, are all violating their oaths of office and nobody is left to enforce any of that.

Now they want to defund the courts and this stuff is all getting normalized

We have gone way behind slippery slopes here

[Solly Mack]

24. Well. I'll exercise restraint.

I'm focusing on the word eliminate: to put an end to or get rid of.

[Kid Berwyn]

25. Traitor Mike

Little fucker gets littler.

[dchill]

26. Eliminating the GOP would be the more...

...logical way to go. I'd be for that.

[MLWR]

30. Or at the very least,

eliminating Moses Mikey from the House of Representatives.

[Canada Kid]

27. GREAT IDEA MIKE!!

'Cause then when someone shoots your sorry ass, there will be no one to prosecute them for the crime. (or will it be karma?) I prdict that at the end of four years, crime will have quintupled, carrying a gun will be like carrying a kleenex, gunshot wounds will outnumber cuts and broken bones in the hospital ERs, and the border between our two countrys will be closed. Some sort of civil war will be going on in the southern states, money will be useless, water and food scarce, fuels will be almost unattainable. TRUMPAGEGGON!!

[Justice matters.]

72. Yep. As long as a few oligarchs who can never have enough will steal everything

from crypto to gold and in between, the GQP is all for that and for Pootyput too.

[AllaN01Bear]

28. hem. snork.

[Mblaze]

29. Mike

Your Party is creating these desperate times. It's part of your intention to create a Christian Nationalist country to replace our secular Constitution. That is why you want Federal judges gone. They tend to follow the Constitution.

[AmericaUnderSiege]

31. If they can get away with that, we need to know quickly.

And if they can't, then watching them try would just be fun as hell and helpful.

All cases say we should encourage this.

[SSJVegeta]

33. That would require a constitution amendment

Anything beyond that wild not have the force of law.

But... just

[AmericaUnderSiege]

36. They've been fully outside the Constitution for more than a year.

Right now it's a question of practicalities what they're capable of. Which is why we need to dare them to act on all threats they make, and not let them get away with any level of intimidation. We need a baseline of fact.

It's infuriating how few with any sort of authority understand that. Nearly all seem to be doing the exact opposite, allowing the occupation to create a maximum cloud of fear and confusion.

[k55f5r]

68. It's enough to make you think

That all of OUR representatives are beholden to their billionaire masters. Looking at YOU, Chuck Schumer.

[SSJVegeta]

32. ..

[surfered]

34. They've gone full Nazi

[Jimvanhise]

38. LAWS?

What are these things called "laws" that you speak of?

[MayReasonRule]

37. Fascists. Rapists. Abjectly Depraved.

Those that save their country do no wrong.

So they say...

[orangecrush]

39. K&R

[SierraPinecone]

41. the orange man

probably told him to throw this out to the media to take the heat off the security breach

[pfitz59]

42. I wonder how ScROTUS feels now?

They created this monster. Starting with Bush v. Gore.

[SharonAnn]

57. Absolutely! Few remember, but that was the event.

[sakabatou]

43. WTAF?!

Leave everything up to the states? Is that what these fuckface repukes want now?

[Justice matters.]

76. That's what Putin wants since a couple of decades, so...

to divide the formerly-known as the "United" and let chaos and lawlessness reign supreme for as long a wide-spread cemetary results from coast to coast.

He's "invested" in that goal for a long time already.

[Tweedy]

44. Poor poor little speaker

Cannot face the rule of law. Gotta tear the courthouses down! What a crying baby this speaker is.

I am looking forward to the gop outrage about selling sponsorships of the Easter crucifixion. Crickets? Yeah. People who use religion to hide their corruption earn themselves the worst circle in hell.

Don’t you know Dante proclaimed that? Many people say so.

[liberalgunwilltravel]

45. I have a better idea

Let's eliminate Johnson and the rest of the MAGA traitors. As we, the People, have broad authority over you Red State cretins in Congress.

[dlk]

46. Because who needs the rule of law...?

If that’s the case, then there’s really no need for the house and senate to make law, either.

Republicans are on a roll!

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

47. UnAmerican Republican Speaker of the House Can Go Fuck Himself

Republican Speaker of the House wants to eliminate federal courts.

God Damn FUCKING UNAMERICAN DICTATORSHIP

Fuck him !!

[Baron2024]

48. Mike Johnson

Mike Johnson is a smirking little fascist bitch, a quisling, and a traitor. The people around Trump are a demonic clown car of incompetence and evil. I do not know which one is worst. They are all terrible.

[DFW]

49. Courts won't rule the way I want them to rule? OK, then I'll abolish them.

"Fear of this battle station will keep them in line."

Or, as a wiser soul put it many decades ago:

I'm Yertle the Turtle, oh marvelous me!
For I am the ruler of all that I see.

And from his TV screen, Krasnov can see a lot.

[Abstractartist]

50. Ok so

Ok class, please have a seat…. Ok thank you… Class, anyone know how many branches of the government there are in this country as spelled out in the US constitution…. Hands please….✋🏻✋🏻✋🏽✋🏾✋🏽..

Ok let’s see, let’s call on someone who does not have his or her hand up…. Mikey Johnson, you? No Donny Trump… Donny Trump… DONNY WAKE UP…. can you answer? No? How about any one of the republican debate team ? … no

Ok so the government has three branches of government…


They are executive, legislative and JUDICIAL…
J U D I C A L….

Class dismissed

[C_U_L8R]

52. Desperate indeed.

And very unAmerican, Lil Johnson.

[Bread and Circuses]

54. Why Not?

A Tyrant doesn’t need judges, courts or even Congress!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

56. MaddowBlog-Republican leaders eye extreme alternatives to impeaching federal judges

Congress’ GOP leaders don’t see the point in trying to impeach judges, but they have some dramatic alternatives in mind that are nearly as radical.
https://bsky.app/profile/stevebenen.com/post/3ll7vj6jzwc2m

As Republicans rage over judges who dare to rule in ways the White House doesn't like, House Speaker Mike Johnson noted this morning that Congress has the authority to "eliminate an entire district court."

This sort of talk is quite bonkers.

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/republican-leaders-eye-extreme-alternatives-impeaching-federal-judges-rcna198004

On Capitol Hill, however, GOP leaders don’t seem overly eager to launch impeachment crusades against judges who’ve done nothing wrong, and who would never be removed by a two-thirds majority in the Senate.

So, what’s a partisan congressional leader to do? The answer, evidently, is to consider some radical alternatives to impeachment. Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman, an MSNBC contributor, spoke with House Speaker Mike Johnson, and the Louisiana Republican shared one possible approach:

We do have authority over the federal courts. As you know, we can, we can eliminate an entire district court. ... We have power, funding over the courts and all these other things. But desperate times call for desperate measures and Congress is going to act so stay tuned for that.

Sherman noted soon after that the House speaker clarified that he didn’t mean this as a direct threat. “I’m trying to illustrate we have a broad scope of authority over the courts,” Johnson added.

And as part of this “broad scope” of congressional authority over the courts, what’s on the table? Quite a bit, actually. Over the course of the last week or so, Republican lawmakers have opened the door to a series of possible alternatives to judicial impeachments. GOP officials are considering:

Legislation to bar district court judges from issuing nationwide injunctions.

Blocking funding for district courts that issued rulings that Trump doesn’t like.

Holding House and Senate hearings to focus attention on judges who’ve issued rulings that Trump doesn’t like.

It was against this backdrop that the House speaker brought up his belief that Congress could “eliminate an entire district court.”

[DENVERPOPS]

58. I have often said here

That the Trumphumping idiot VOTERS don't realize how stupid they are, because they haven't figured out, even yet, that they have outgrown their usefullness and that they won't ever be needed again.......

Also the Stupid House Members and Senators that don't realize a tyranny doesn't need a Legislative Branch.

Along with courts and judges, including the USSCourt judges that haven't realized a tyranny doesn't need a Judicial Branch

Another group would be Tax Accountants, Tax Lawyers, or any lawyers for that matter.....

[LudwigPastorius]

60. He's getting ahead of himself.

The Reichstag fire came before the establishment of the Volksgerichtshof.

Didn't these two bit neo-Nazis pay attention in history class?

[Buddyzbuddy]

61. It looks as though somebody's trying to divert attention from the real problems.

He knows that statement isn't going anywhere. I think he just threw a bone and many will chase it.

[HarryM]

62. I never in my 70 years on this Earth ever thought

I would see such a thing. These bass turds are doing whatever they can to destroy the country. Why? I guess so that a bunch of rich white old men can be dictators? When is the public going to get up and do something, or will history repeat itself... AGAIN!

[mdbl]

63. They are too stupid to realize they will be killing their own golden goose.

Every constitutional protection afforded us is also afforded to them. Only total fools would think stripping everyone else's avenue of justice would not affect them also.

[LittleGirl]

64. This!

Someone who should be removed as Speaker of the House, expelled from Congress, and disbarred. This is what John Roberts hath wrought.

[Reader Rabbit]

65. Violating his oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution

It a normal universe, that would be grounds for impeachment, let alone treason. In this bizarro world we currently inhabit, Trump's troglodyte followers will cheer him on.

[milestogo]

66. omg

[RainCaster]

67. How to make SCOTUS happy

I'm sure all those conservative justices on the Supreme Court are truly pleased with this announcement.

[angryxyouth]

71. Power of the purse

So no federal courts? Who would prosecute federal crimes? I can think of a couple I would like to commit. This is completely sarcastic of course. How much longer can these people go out in public. Right now I wouldn’t trust any meal I didn’t cook myself if I were MJ

[Bluethroughu]

74. Mr. Coup attacking the courts, who would have thought?

[leftyladyfrommo]

75. Just another fucking threat. These guys are

experts at keeping the poor folks scared to death. Frightened people are docile.