When lower-court judges start giving anonymous interviews about the Supreme Court “undermining” them, you know the lawfare machine is fighting back. SCOTUS has repeatedly stayed or reversed trial-bench roadblocks aimed at kneecapping the Executive Branch. In Los Angeles, a district judge barred immigration officers from making reasonable-suspicion stops if they considered factors like language, location, or type of work. SCOTUS put that on ice, with Justice Kavanaugh reminding everyone that policy calls belong to the elected branches, not chambers with lifetime tenure. The three socialists on the Court usually dissent, but the practical result is simple: federal law enforcement can do its job while the case proceeds.
Same story on the separation-of-powers front. Lower courts tried to force President Trump to keep members of independent agencies whom he’d removed. First it was National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board members in Trump v. Wilcox; then came the Federal Trade Commission, where Chief Justice Roberts issued an administrative stay allowing the dismissal of Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter to remain in place. You don’t have to love every personnel decision to see the constitutional point: Article II vests executive power in the President, and courts shouldn’t micromanage who wields it on his behalf while litigation grinds on. These orders don’t decide the ultimate merits, but they do stop the gamesmanship—using preliminary injunctions as a veto pen—dead in its tracks.
The justices also tackled the lower courts’ favorite bludgeon: the “universal” injunction. In Trump v. CASA, the Court said nationwide injunctions against presidential actions aren’t part of the traditional equitable toolbox. Relief should be tailored to the parties, not converted into a one-judge national policy. That ruling matters because it removes the go-to tactic for freezing an entire administration’s agenda based on a single district court’s say-so. Pair that with emergency-docket stays—like the one permitting the Defense Department’s transgender service policy to take effect pending appeal—and a pattern emerges. The High Court is telling the trial bench: apply the law, respect the Constitution’s allocation of powers, and stop trying to run the country from your courtroom.
Cue the chorus of anonymous robes lamenting that SCOTUS offers “little explanation” and is somehow “political.” Irony alert: accusing the Supreme Court of politics because it overturns their political rulings are a self-indictment. If your order exceeds your equitable authority, rewrites Article II, or substitutes your policy preferences for elected ones, don’t blame the umpire for calling foul. The emergency docket exists to prevent irreparable harm while law catches up with reality; it’s not pretty, but it’s lawful and necessary—especially when trial courts swing for the fences. We need judges, not activists. As is written Isaiah 33:22, “For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King; He will save us.” Of course, if they don’t believe in God or God’s law, how can they uphold law derived from God? Obviously, they cannot.
Sources
SCOTUS allows federal officers to more freely make immigration stops in LA — SCOTUSblog
Noem v. Perdomo — Concurrence/Order (PDF), U.S. Supreme Court
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/25a169_5h25.pdf
Supreme Court lifts restrictions on LA immigration stops — AP
https://apnews.com/article/57cc1f85ceafda0f11052b326c8b7173
Chief justice allows Trump to fire a Democratic FTC commissioner for now — Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/09/08/trade-commission-trump-firings-supreme-court/
U.S. Supreme Court lets Trump remove FTC member for now — Reuters
Supreme Court allows Trump to remove agency heads without cause for now (Trump v. Wilcox) — SCOTUSblog
Trump v. CASA, Inc.: Supreme Court Limits Nationwide Injunctions — CRS
https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB11331
Supreme Court Ends Use of Universal Injunctions — McGuireWoods summary
United States v. Shilling (transgender military policy stay) — SCOTUSblog case file
https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/case-files/united-states-v-shilling/
Analysis: Political decisions from federal judges necessitate Trump’s use of SCOTUS emergency docket — The Washington Stand https://washingtonstand.com/article/analysis-political-decisions-from-federal-judges-necessitate-trumps-use-of-scotus-emergency-docket
