A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump dealt a blow to the president’s efforts to limit the power of the judiciary, issuing a stern rebuke on Tuesday of his lawsuit against Maryland’s federal judges.
The Trump administration took an extraordinary step in June when it decided to sue all federal district judges in Maryland after the chief judge blocked the government from rushing deportations of certain migrants who are detained in the state. It was an unprecedented move by an administration that has continuously sought to diminish the federal judiciary’s power.
Federal District Judge Thomas T. Cullen, who was overseeing the case, dismissed the lawsuit, concluding that siding with Trump and allowing the case to continue would “run counter to overwhelming precedent, depart from longstanding constitutional tradition, and offend the rule of law.”