{"id":2469685,"date":"2025-08-01T13:47:01","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T17:47:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kavanaugh-pinpoints-a-major-separation-of-powers-issue\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T13:49:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T17:49:02","slug":"kavanaugh-pinpoints-a-major-separation-of-powers-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kavanaugh-pinpoints-a-major-separation-of-powers-issue\/","title":{"rendered":"Kavanaugh Pinpoints A Major Separation Of Powers Issue"},"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%2Fkavanaugh-pinpoints-a-major-separation-of-powers-issue%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=2469685&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>supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh recently discussed a fundamental issue affecting the separation of powers in the United States during an interview at the Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference. He highlighted concerns over the growing role of the executive branch in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/centrist-republicans-float-reinstating-mccarthy-as-speaker-following-israel-attacks\/\" title=\"Centrist Republicans consider reinstating McCarthy as speaker after Israel attacks.\">shaping domestic policy<\/a> through executive orders and regulations, often bypassing Congress, which has become increasingly difficult to legislate. Kavanaugh also addressed the Supreme Court&#8217;s use of its emergency docket,explaining that the court sometimes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-files-motion-to-stay-federal-gag-order-judge-chutkan-relents-temporarily\/\" title=\"Trump seeks to delay federal gag order, Judge Chutkan grants temporary ....\">grants temporary relief<\/a> without detailed opinions to avoid a &#8220;lock-in effect&#8221; of premature legal judgments before full review. His remarks reflect broader concerns shared by other justices, like Samuel Alito, about the expanding executive power and Congress&#8217;s diminishing role in lawmaking. The interview underscored ongoing tensions between branches of government and the judiciary&#8217;s role in addressing challenges arising from this dynamic.  <\/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=2sKvSwzkmqo\">CIT\/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\/08\/01\/justice-kavanaugh-highlights-separation-of-powers-issue-congress-keeps-making-worse\/\" 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%20Kavanaugh%20Highlights%20Separation%20Of%20Powers%20Issue%20Congress%20Keeps%20Making%20Worse&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/01\/justice-kavanaugh-highlights-separation-of-powers-issue-congress-keeps-making-worse\/\" 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%20Kavanaugh%20Highlights%20Separation%20Of%20Powers%20Issue%20Congress%20Keeps%20Making%20Worse&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/01\/justice-kavanaugh-highlights-separation-of-powers-issue-congress-keeps-making-worse\/\" 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\/08\/01\/justice-kavanaugh-highlights-separation-of-powers-issue-congress-keeps-making-worse\/\" 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%20Kavanaugh%20Highlights%20Separation%20Of%20Powers%20Issue%20Congress%20Keeps%20Making%20Worse&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/01\/justice-kavanaugh-highlights-separation-of-powers-issue-congress-keeps-making-worse\/\" 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>Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh identified a foundational issue impacting America&rsquo;s separation of powers during a rare sit-down interview on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>The moment came during a discussion with District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk at this year&rsquo;s Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference. Pitlyk previously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fjc.gov\/history\/judges\/pitlyk-sarah-elizabeth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">clerked<\/a> for Kavanaugh when he was a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.<\/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__b89e9-1024317549\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Kavanaugh was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/07\/31\/us\/politics\/kavanaugh-supreme-court-emergency.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a> asked about the Supreme Court&rsquo;s emergency docket, where petitioners may <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >file applications seeking temporary relief<\/a> from the high court in their respective cases while litigation continues in the lower courts. <\/p>\n<p>Since returning to office, the Trump administration has regularly used the emergency docket to ask SCOTUS for emergency relief from lower courts&rsquo; judicial coup. A majority of the justices &mdash; including Kavanaugh &mdash; have <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/23\/scotus-hands-trump-win-in-consumer-product-safety-commission-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">at times<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/08\/scotus-blocks-lower-court-injunction-on-trumps-effort-to-resize-the-federal-bureaucracy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">granted<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/24\/scotus-agrees-trump-admin-can-carry-out-third-country-deportations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the<\/a> administration&rsquo;s requests, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/24\/scotus-agrees-trump-admin-can-carry-out-third-country-deportations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">garnering<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/23\/scotus-hands-trump-win-in-consumer-product-safety-commission-case\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">criticisms<\/a> from the court&rsquo;s Democrat appointees. <\/p>\n<p>Addressing the critique that the high court&rsquo;s orders granting such relief often come without explanations, Kavanaugh warned about the &ldquo;lock-in effect&rdquo; that could occur should the justices offer extensive legal opinions on an issue before the merits of the cases can be fully litigated and decided by the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There could be a risk in writing the opinion, of lock-in effect, of making a snap judgment and putting it in writing, in a written opinion that&rsquo;s not going to reflect the final view,&rdquo; Kavanaugh said.<\/p>\n<p>The most notable aspect of the Trump appointee&rsquo;s comments, however, came in his diagnosis of the root of the problem at hand. He specifically noted the executive&rsquo;s growing role in shaping domestic policy without going through the legislature, a process he telegraphed has become increasingly difficult. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Executive branches of both parties over the last 20 years have been increasingly trying to issue executive orders and regulations that achieve the policy objectives of the president in power,&rdquo; Kavanaugh said. He reportedly added that such &ldquo;actions give rise to challenges that can race to the Supreme Court,&rdquo; as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/07\/31\/us\/politics\/kavanaugh-supreme-court-emergency.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">described<\/a> by The New York Times. <\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s also true that, unlike many of his predecessors, President Trump has faced a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/18\/80-percent-of-anti-trump-lawsuits-are-filed-in-courts-ruled-by-democrat-appointees\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wave of lawfare<\/a> from left-wing activists, who have sought to weaponize the courts to stymie his administration&rsquo;s policy agenda. As the Times admitted, &ldquo;The Trump administration has filed about 20 emergency applications seeking relief from injunctions issued by federal trial judges in its first six months,&rdquo; which &ldquo;is more than the total number of such applications the Biden administration filed over four years, and far more than the eight applications filed over the 16 years of the George W. Bush and Barack Obama presidencies.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Kavanaugh is hardly the only current member of the Supreme Court to discuss the growing power of the executive and Congress&rsquo;s inability to adequately perform its constitutional duties. <\/p>\n<p>During a June <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/19\/here-are-8-killer-quotes-from-justice-alitos-latest-sit-down-interview\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">interview<\/a> with the Hoover Institution&rsquo;s Peter Robinson, Associate Justice Samuel Alito noted how the &ldquo;Constitution deliberately sets up a law-making procedure that is time consuming and laborious,&rdquo; and that &ldquo;as the difficulty of getting legislation passed has increased, the presidents have increasingly looked to see what they can do on their own.&rdquo; Alito specifically mentioned President Obama&rsquo;s 2014 &ldquo;phone&rdquo; and &ldquo;pen&rdquo; comment about enacting policies should Congress fail to address them. <\/p>\n<p>The remarks came as part of a broader conversation between the justice and Robinson on lower courts&rsquo; use of nationwide injunctions &mdash; an issue at the forefront of the high court&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/06\/27\/supreme-court-nukes-nationwide-injunctions-against-trumps-birthright-citizenship-order\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Trump v. CASA<\/em> decision<\/a> released later that month. <\/p>\n<\/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\/brett-kavanaugh\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Brett Kavanaugh<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/emergency-docket\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">emergency docket<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/executive-overreach\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">executive overreach<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/lawmaking\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">lawmaking<\/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\/separation-of-powers\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">separation of powers<\/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<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh highlights key separation of powers issue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2469686,"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\/08\/Brett-Kavanaugh.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[43482,40607,9068,56572,32275],"class_list":["post-2469685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-constitutional-law","tag-judicial-review","tag-kavanaugh","tag-separation-of-powers","tag-supreme-court"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Brett-Kavanaugh.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469685","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=2469685"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2469689,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469685\/revisions\/2469689"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2469686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2469685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2469685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2469685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}