The Republican attempt to discourage Trump lawsuits has hit a big
obstacle
[June 24, 2025]
By KEVIN FREKING
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have hit a roadblock in an effort that
could deter nonprofits, individuals and other potential litigants from
filing lawsuits to block President Donald Trump over his executive
actions.
As Trump faces lawsuits nationwide, GOP lawmakers had sought to bar
federal courts from issuing temporary restraining orders or preliminary
injunctions against the federal government unless the plaintiffs post
what in many cases would be a massive financial bond at the beginning of
the case.
The proposal was included in the Senate version of Trump's massive tax
and immigration bill, but ran into trouble with the Senate
parliamentarian, who said it violates the chamber's rules. It is now
unlikely to be in the final package.
Federal judges can already require plaintiffs to post security bonds,
but such funds are commonly waived in public interest cases. The GOP
proposal would make the payment of the financial bond a requirement
before a judge could make a ruling, which critics said would have a
chilling effect on potential litigants who wouldn't have the resources
to comply.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer hailed the parliamentarian's
ruling in a press statement and called the GOP effort “nothing short of
an assault on the system of checks and balances that has anchored the
nation since it's founding.”
“But Senate Democrats stopped them cold,” Schumer said.
Lawmakers are running scores of provisions by the Senate
parliamentarian’s office to ensure they fit with the chamber's rules for
inclusion in a reconciliation bill. The recommendations from Elizabeth
MacDonough will have a major impact on the final version of the
legislation.
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., talks to reporters
about Senate Republicans' efforts to pass President Donald Trump's
tax cut and spending agenda with deeper Medicaid cuts, at the
Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott
Applewhite)
On Friday, she determined that a proposal to shift some food stamps
costs from the federal government to states would violate the
chamber’s rules. But some of the most difficult questions are still
to come as Republicans hope to get a bill passed and on Trump's desk
to be signed into law before July 4th.
Republicans could still seek to include the judiciary provision in
the bill, but it would likely be challenged and subject to a
separate vote in which the provision would need 60 votes to remain.
The parliamentarian's advice, while not binding, is generally
followed by the Senate.
Republicans and the White House have been highly critical of some of
the court rulings blocking various Trump orders on immigration,
education and voting. The courts have agreed to block the president
in a number of cases, and the administration is seeking appeals as
well.
In April, the House voted to limit the scope of injunctive relief
ordered by a district judge to those parties before the court,
rather than applying the relief nationally. But that bill is
unlikely to advance in the Senate since it would need 60 votes to
advance. That's left Republicans looking for other avenues to blunt
the court orders.
“We are experiencing a constitutional crisis, a judicial coup d’etat,”
Rep. Bob Onder, R-Mo., said during the House debate.
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