It’s Time for a Constitutional Summit Among Leaders of Government's Three Branches to Address Rogue Federal Judges

The federal judiciary is assertively impeding President Trump’s administration of the Executive Branch, but under what constitutional authority is this occurring? President Trump should meet face to face with Chief Justice Roberts and ask him.

There is a constitutional crisis in this country due to the judiciary asserting authority to micro-manage the administration of the Executive Branch. The Constitution, however, is quite explicit about the separation of governmental roles and responsibilities. There is nothing in the Constitution that allows the hundreds of federal judges to serve as overseers of President Trump’s Article II executive powers.

There was hope among constitutional conservatives that Chief Justice John Roberts would eventually assert himself as the leader of the judiciary and put a stop to the judicial activism at the District Court level. Unfortunately, Justice Roberts has shown that he will not do this of his own accord.

Perhaps Justice Roberts just doesn’t have the fortitude to take necessary actions. His appointment as Chief Justice was regrettable if he is unsuited for a leadership position. His resume is quite impressive, but it is full of titles including words such as “Deputy,” “Associate,” and “Special Assistant.” Lacking are terms such as “Head,” “Lead,” or “Chief.” Even if Roberts’ resume warranted a spot on the Supreme Court, it might have been better if an existing justice who had exhibited leadership skills had been elevated to chief justice, with Roberts then being appointed as an associate justice.

Because Justice Roberts will not assert control, there is a growing clamor for President Trump to start ignoring the rulings from federal district judges. That “nuclear option” would necessarily serve as a catalyst for John Roberts and the Supreme Court to finally address the problem of rogue judges.

But before going nuclear, perhaps President Trump might compel a reluctant John Roberts to take action in a more genteel way. Quite simply, the president can organize and host a summit of the leaders of the three branches of government to discuss constitutional roles and responsibilities of the branches of government they lead, and how they constitutionally interact with each other. There should be just four attendees at the summit: President Trump, Chief Justice John Roberts, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

Before I go further into what should be discussed at a Constitutional Summit, it is worth recalling that Donald Trump has been pleading with Chief Justice Roberts to address the problem of renegade federal judges, especially since it is simply not feasible for the hundreds of stays and injunctions to wend their way through the appeals process to the Supreme Court during the president’s term, nor can the court conceivably hear every appeal.

Shortly after Trump’s inauguration, the judicial resistance to the new president was already in full swing. In March of 2025, as Judge James Boasberg started asserting his authority to veto the president’s executive actions, President Trump implored Roberts to take action, stating “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!"

It's time for President Trump to ask Justice Roberts directly why he is allowing the courts to go rogue.

If such a summit were to occur, it would be wise for the president to have some conservative legal minds prep some questions and discussion topics, but a few that immediately come to my mind would be:

• Ask Roberts, Johnson and Thune their understanding of the role of federal judges, what constitutional powers they have, and why.

• Ask Roberts if he defends the rogue activism of district judges. If so, explain why. If not, advise why it is being allowed.

• Discuss what the Executive and Legislative branch “checks” on the judiciary are in our “checks and balances” system. What powers do Congress and the Executive Branch have to check rogue judges?

• Should there be more balance in the application of checks and balances? Courts are very aggressive about checking other branches’ powers. Why are there no checks being imposed on the judiciary?

• Ask Roberts his opinion on judges who are routinely overruled. Is repeatedly being overruled by appellate courts a sufficient reason for impeachment?

And most importantly…

• How will Chief Justice Roberts respond if/when Trump announces that rogue federal judges have no constitutional authority to manage the executive Branch, and Trump will no longer comply with their rulings.

The summit I am proposing is neither sanctioned by the Constitution nor prohibited, but it would present a direct challenge to the Chief Justice to be part of the solution for a judicial crisis that will otherwise have to be resolved without his involvement.

[buck.throckmorton at protonmail dot com]

posted by Buck Throckmorton at 11:00 AM

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