BUTLER COUNTY, IOWA – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, applauded President Donald Trump’s recent memorandum directing federal agencies to enforce the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c). Under Rule 65, federal courts must require parties seeking a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order to provide a financial guarantee, which deters frivolous lawsuits and ensures coverage for lost taxpayer dollars when injunctions are later deemed wrongly issued.
“Over the last few months, I have watched with concern as individual district judges have issued sweeping injunctions that reach far beyond the case or controversy before them,” Grassley wrote. “Exacerbating the problem, however, is that these injunctions have been routinely implemented in violation of federal law.”
“The rule of law matters. Over the last decade, we have seen chaos unfold when individual district judges determine policy for the whole country. The courts should have been imposing injunction bonds on their own, but because they have failed to so, President Trump is right to demand that the Justice Department remind the courts of their obligations under the Federal Rules,” Grassley continued.
Grassley also highlighted the Senate Judiciary Committee’s bipartisan commitment to examining instances of judicial overreach.
“Democrats and Republicans have both raised concerns about the use of nationwide preliminary injunctions and temporary restraining orders,” Grassley observed.
“Please know that my colleagues and I in the Senate are watching this issue closely. I will be working to solve the problem of judicial overreach, and in the meantime, commend the Administration’s efforts to enforce existing law,” Grassley concluded.
Finally, Grassley included a handwritten note to Attorney General Bondi reading, “Pam: This is a very important issue for me! Please take strong action!”
Read the full letter HERE.
Background:
According to a 2023 Harvard Law Review study, from 2001 to 2023, two-thirds of all nationwide injunctions targeted President Trump’s first administration. Nearly all of these injunctions were imposed by judges appointed by Democrat presidents. Since taking office in January 2024, there have been dozens of orders and more than 100 pending lawsuits against President Trump’s second administration.
Rule 65(c), adopted in 1937, allows courts to issue a preliminary injunction or a temporary restraining order only if the movant posts a security equal to the potential losses from a wrongly issued order. In 2007, the Rules Committee revisited Rule 65 and reaffirmed the mandatory language of the injunction bond. Despite this, federal courts continue to ignore the law.
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