{"id":2435065,"date":"2025-05-15T13:34:02","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T17:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/justice-thomas-exposes-the-absurdity-of-nationwide-injunctions\/"},"modified":"2025-05-15T13:35:52","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T17:35:52","slug":"justice-thomas-exposes-the-absurdity-of-nationwide-injunctions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/justice-thomas-exposes-the-absurdity-of-nationwide-injunctions\/","title":{"rendered":"Justice Thomas Exposes The Absurdity Of Nationwide Injunctions"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjustice-thomas-exposes-the-absurdity-of-nationwide-injunctions%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2435065&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses an oral argument presented to the U.S. Supreme Court regarding nationwide injunctions related to President Trump&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/from-immigration-to-tiktok-the-trump-actions-already-facing-legal-threats-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"From immigration to TikTok: The Trump actions already facing legal threats - Washington Examiner\">birthright citizenship order<\/a>. Associate Justice clarence Thomas questions the historical emergence of nationwide injunctions, emphasizing that they only became common practice much later in U.S. history. He noted that these injunctions hinder the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/army-vet-plans-to-appeal-ninth-circuit-ruling-against-gun-carry\/\" title=\"Army Vet Plans to Appeal Ninth Circuit Ruling Against Gun Carry\">federal court system<\/a> by creating urgency for every case and encouraging forum shopping.<\/p>\n<p>during the discussion, U.S. Solicitor general John Sauer stated that nationwide injunctions became more prevalent starting in the early 1960s, but Thomas pointed out that the judicial system operated without them before that period. The case at hand does not address the substance of Trump&#8217;s order but rather seeks to limit the scope of lower court injunctions. The article highlights a contentious exchange between Sauer and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, indicative of the ideological divide among the justices. A final decision in the case is anticipated towards the end of the Supreme Court&#8217;s term.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=fMKuFj7k7WQ\">American Enterprise Institute\/YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/05\/15\/justice-thomas-exposes-the-absurdity-of-nationwide-injunctions-with-one-simple-question\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Justice%20Thomas%20Exposes%20The%20Absurdity%20Of%20Nationwide%20Injunctions%20With%20One%20Simple%20Question&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/05\/15\/justice-thomas-exposes-the-absurdity-of-nationwide-injunctions-with-one-simple-question\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Justice%20Thomas%20Exposes%20The%20Absurdity%20Of%20Nationwide%20Injunctions%20With%20One%20Simple%20Question&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/05\/15\/justice-thomas-exposes-the-absurdity-of-nationwide-injunctions-with-one-simple-question\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/05\/15\/justice-thomas-exposes-the-absurdity-of-nationwide-injunctions-with-one-simple-question\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Justice%20Thomas%20Exposes%20The%20Absurdity%20Of%20Nationwide%20Injunctions%20With%20One%20Simple%20Question&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/05\/15\/justice-thomas-exposes-the-absurdity-of-nationwide-injunctions-with-one-simple-question\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>On Thursday Associate Justice Clarence Thomas injected a healthy dose of reality into Supreme Court oral arguments over the issue of nationwide injunctions on President Trump&rsquo;s birthright citizenship order.<\/p>\n<p>The moment came during an exchange between Thomas and U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer on the history of nationwide injunctions. Such orders seek to prohibit the federal government from implementing a certain law or policy against all applicable persons, regardless of whether those individuals are parties to the case before the court. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-56067129\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In Thursday&rsquo;s hearing, Thomas asked Sauer &mdash; who represented the Trump administration &mdash; about the history of nationwide injunctions and when courts first started issuing such orders. The solicitor general answered by <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BreitbartNews\/status\/1923027825461764169\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">citing<\/a> Thomas&rsquo; concurring opinion in <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/17pdf\/17-965_h315.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trump v. Hawaii<\/a><\/em>, a 2018 case that <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/06\/if-the-supreme-court-is-going-to-ignore-the-constitution-trump-should-ignore-the-supreme-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">resulted in<\/a> SCOTUS reversing &ldquo;a lower court&rsquo;s decision to uphold a nationwide injunction on Trump&rsquo;s travel ban,&rdquo; according to The Federalist&rsquo;s John Daniel Davidson.<\/p>\n<p>In his concurrence in that case, Thomas <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2018\/06\/29\/travel-ban-ruling-justice-thomas-takes-aim-insane-use-nationwide-injunctions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted<\/a> how nationwide injunctions by lower courts &ldquo;did not emerge until a century and a half after the founding.&rdquo; He further observed that these injunctions &ldquo;appear to be inconsistent with longstanding limits on equitable relief and the power of Article III courts.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;These injunctions are beginning to take a toll on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dems-turn-to-activist-judges-to-defy-trump\/\" title=\"Dems Turn To Activist Judges To Defy Trump\">federal court system &#038;mdash<\/a>; preventing legal questions from percolating through the federal courts, encouraging forum shopping, and making every case a national emergency for the courts and for the Executive Branch,&rdquo; Thomas wrote. <\/p>\n<p>In his response to Thomas, Sauer <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BreitbartNews\/status\/1923027825461764169\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">highlighted<\/a> several examples of universal injunctions that he said began emerging in the early 1960s.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;So we survived until the 1960s without universal injunctions?&rdquo; asked Thomas, to which Sauer replied, &ldquo;That&rsquo;s exactly correct.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Sauer added, &ldquo;In fact, those [injunctions] are very limited and very rare even in the 1960s. It really exploded in 2007 in our cert petition in <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oyez.org\/cases\/2008\/07-463\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Summers v. Earth Island Institute<\/a><\/em>, we pointed out that the Ninth Circuit had started doing this in a whole bunch of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >cases involving environmental claims<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The case before SCOTUS on Thursday does not address the merits of Trump&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/protecting-the-meaning-and-value-of-american-citizenship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">order<\/a> seeking to end so-called &ldquo;birthright citizenship.&rdquo; Nor does it address universal injunctions issued under the Administrative Procedures Act, which, The Federalist&rsquo;s Margot Cleveland <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/05\/13\/even-if-scotus-gives-trump-a-win-on-birthright-citizenship-it-will-not-end-partisan-lawfare\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted<\/a>, constitute &ldquo;the majority of nationwide injunctions entered against the Trump Administration since the president returned to Washington.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Instead,&rdquo; Cleveland wrote, &ldquo;the Trump Administration filed an application before the Supreme Court asking the justices to limit the application of the lower courts&rsquo; injunctions [on the birthright citizenship order] to those properly before the courts.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Throughout Thursday&rsquo;s oral arguments, Sauer faced aggressive questioning from SCOTUS&rsquo;s Democrat appointees, who appeared poised to rule against the administration. <\/p>\n<p>During <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MarkNaughton9\/status\/1923026368310231406\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">one exchange<\/a> with Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Sauer attempted to answer the Obama appointee&rsquo;s inquiries regarding executive compliance with injunctions handed down by the judiciary. Instead of permitting Sauer to address her concerns, Sotomayor cut off the solicitor general, prompting Chief Justice John Roberts to interject and subtly suggest that the associate justice allow Sauer to answer.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Can I hear the rest of his answer?&rdquo; Roberts asked.  <\/p>\n<p>A decision in the case is not expected until the final weeks of the Supreme Court&rsquo;s current term, which will end in late June-early July. <\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/birthright-citizenship\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Birthright Citizenship<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/clarence-thomas\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Clarence Thomas<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/john-roberts\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">John Roberts<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/judicial-coup\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">judicial coup<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/nationwide-injunctions\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">nationwide injunctions<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/scotus\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">SCOTUS<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/sonia-sotomayor\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Sonia Sotomayor<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Trump Administration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/trump-v-casa\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Trump v. CASA<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Justice Clarence Thomas brought a dose of reality to Supreme Court discussions on nationwide injunctions regarding Trump&#8217;s birthright citizenship order<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2435066,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Clarence-Thomas.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[51417,33519,36218,51025,32275],"class_list":["post-2435065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-judicial-authority","tag-justice-thomas","tag-legal-analysis","tag-nationwide-injunctions","tag-supreme-court"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Clarence-Thomas.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2435065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2435065"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2435065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2435069,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2435065\/revisions\/2435069"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2435066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2435065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2435065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2435065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}