President Trump escalated his attacks on judges on Wednesday, calling on Republican lawmakers to pass a crime bill that “cracks down on rogue judges.”
Mr. Trump and top aides have been railing against judges who have ruled against him, including justices on the Supreme Court, but he had not yet called for a legal crackdown on sitting judges.
“The time has also come for Republicans to pass a tough new crime bill that imposes harsh penalties for dangerous repeat offenders, cracks down on rogue judges. We got rogue judges that are criminals. They are criminals, what they do to our country. The decisions that they hand down and hurt our country,” Mr. Trump said at a National Republican Congressional Committee event in Washington.
When asked what measures Mr. Trump would want taken against judges he labels as “rogue” or “criminals,” the White House referred to the president’s statements.
Mr. Trump has previously said that he would not sign any legislation until a strict voter identification bill was passed, saying that it would “guarantee the midterms” for his party. He appeared to suggest that a crime bill could be handled after the midterms. Mr. Trump said on Wednesday that “if we get a few more votes,” then “we could do things that would be a miracle. We got to get out and win.”
The midterm campaign pledge was the latest escalation in Mr. Trump’s barrage of attacks against the federal judiciary, which have grown increasingly pointed after the Supreme Court struck down his wide-reaching tariffs as unlawful. The acrimony has been echoed by aides like Stephen Miller, Vice President JD Vance and even in the Justice Department, where prosecutors are attacking federal judges in their court filings and legal arguments.
Last week, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. denounced personal attacks aimed at judges and justices, calling them “dangerous.”
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump singled out the Supreme Court’s tariff decision as he spoke of court rulings that have blocked his policies.
“The decisions that these people make,” Mr. Trump said. “I got a decision on tariffs that’s going to cost our country — not me, I do it a different way — going to cost our country hundreds of billions, potentially, of refunds. Giving them back to people that have been ripping off our country.”
The vast majority of the economic burden of Mr. Trump’s tariffs has fallen on U.S. companies and consumers. An estimated $166 billion in illegal duties were collected by the Trump administration, and U.S. businesses are clamoring for refunds.
Mr. Trump then complained that “the Supreme Court didn’t want to put one little sentence that all money taken in up ’til this day doesn’t have to be paid back.” He added: “Going to cost us hundreds of billions of dollars. So sad to see.”
Erica L. Green contributed reporting.
Chris Cameron is a Times reporter covering Washington, focusing on breaking news and the Trump administration.
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