Trump demands ‘common sense’
President angry with 9th Circuit over border ruling
WASHINGTON — Incensed by a ruling against his migrant asylum policy, President Donald Trump on Thursday demanded “some common sense” from America’s judges and directed his ire at a liberal-leaning appeals court.
He professed respect for Chief Justice John Roberts, with whom he is engaged in a public dispute over the independence of the judiciary.
Roberts issued a strongly worded statement Wednesday defending judicial independence and contradicting Trump’s claim that judges are partisans allied with the party of the president who nominated them.
Trump began his Thanksgiving Day by asserting on Twitter that courts should defer to his administration and law enforcement on border security because judges “know nothing about it and are making our Country unsafe.”
“I like him and I respect him,” Trump said about Roberts, “but I think we have to use some common sense. The 9th Circuit, everybody knows that it’s totally out of control.”
Trump began the holiday by tweeting that Roberts “can say what he wants, but the 9th Circuit is a complete & total disaster.”
The president, spending the holiday in Florida, later told reporters that law enforcers and military service members he has sent to the U.s.-mexico border “can’t believe the decisions that are being made by these judges.”
He raised the topic during his call to service members, saying the 9th Circuit “has become a big thorn in our side. … It’s a terrible thing when judges take over your protective services, when they tell you how to protect the border. It’s a disgrace.”
The 9th Circuit is by far the largest of the federal appellate courts, covering Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Some Republicans in 9th Circuit states have proposed splitting the circuit in two, but legislation has not advanced.
The court has long had a majority of judges appointed by Democratic presidents, with the current breakdown at 16-7. But Trump has the opportunity to narrow that edge significantly because there are six vacancies, and he already has nominated candidates for five of them.