Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) argued that district court judges cannot rule as if they are politicians, which includes issuing executive orders against President Donald Trump.

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments over the president’s executive order ending birthright citizenship on Thursday, where the focus will be on whether a single federal judge can issue a universal or nationwide injunction to stop the government from enforcing executive orders. The Trump administration has been hit with multiple speed bumps in carrying out executive orders due to judicial injunctions. Lee suggests this is due to a “deterioration” in understanding the difference between judges and presidents.

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“We’ve got judges cosplaying as president, but judges aren’t presidents,” Lee stated on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle. “They’re not politicians, they’re not there to make executive decisions. They’re examining what it means to have a president issue a presidential directive within the scope of his executive authority, and whether and to what extent and circumstances a single federal district judge can step in and say ‘I don’t like that,’ re-litigate the merits of the policy decision, and halt it.” 

Lee revealed to the Washington Examiner in March that he was introducing the Restraining Judicial Activists Act of 2025, which would create a three-judge district court to oversee rulings against the executive branch.

The senator explained that most judges ruling against Trump are aware that their rulings will not be held up once they are litigated in court. However, the key problem in these judicial rulings is how they are slowing the process of executive orders, essentially withholding from Trump “a substantial portion of his presidency.”

Lee noted that the Supreme Court typically seeks to resolve all of its cases before the end of June, meaning it is likely the court will decide on Thursday’s arguments within the next six weeks. He hoped the Supreme Court would recognize that federal judges are “depriving” Trump of his presidency, adding that there is “good reason” why judges should interpret the law instead of creating it.

TRUMP’S BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP BAN COULD SPUR SUPREME COURT TO CURB NATIONWIDE INJUNCTIONS

“These guys are making policy, and they’re doing it under the guise of judging, and it’s wrong,” Lee said.

Trump, who is wrapping up his trip to the Middle East, wrote on Truth Social that drug cartels “love” birthright citizenship. He added that the United States is “a stupid country” for allowing it, and that it is “yet another point that leads to the dysfunction of America.”