WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) joined Washington Watch with Tony Perkins to discuss his legislation to end universal injunctions and ensure district judges are limited to deciding cases and controversies, instead of dictating national policy.
Today, Grassley held a committee hearing on the bipartisan problem of universal injunctions and the need for legislative solutions, like Grassley’s Judicial Relief Clarification Act of 2025 (JRCA).
On Universal Injunctions:
“When you have a national injunction in a California district, that means that that judge is making his decision nationwide to stop the president from doing what he thinks he should do as a result of his election … In the final analysis, this judge, one out of 600 or 700, is a policy maker, instead of being a judge interpreting law.
“So, my legislation would stop district judges from dictating national policy. It would limit judges to deciding cases and controversies, and the words ‘cases and controversies’ come directly from the Constitution, limiting what judges can do.
“So, starting over again, it limits judges to deciding cases and controversies and the parties directly before them … and to make sure that this sticks, we would strengthen and speed up the appeals process if either party wanted to take it higher up.”
On Bipartisan Support:
“So far, this bill has been introduced just by roughly 21 Republicans. It should get Democratic support, because we had an effort made in the Biden administration by at least [240] Democrat Members of Congress...saying the same thing I’m saying… So, we should get bipartisan support. But I'll bet you we won't, because the Democrats are using this tool very effectively.”
On Supreme Court Action:
“The Supreme Court writes Rules of Civil Procedure, and there's a process for them to put a stop to this by amending the Rules of Civil Procedure … but we can't wait to see whether the Supreme Court will do something. So, let's say, in 240 years, the Supreme Court has never done anything on this. Maybe they won't. So, that's why Congress can act.”
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