The notoriously liberal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has been brought to heel by President Donald Trump, and everyday Americans can now anticipate more even-handed justice.
After President Trump won the historic 2016 election, biased Obama judges of the “Nutty Ninth” joined the radical “resist and obstruct” movement promoted by far-left extremists. With every executive action the president took to put the interests of American citizens first, Democrats ran to the Ninth Circuit to gain an injunction to impede the process. In the early days of the Trump Administration, political opponents traveled almost exclusively to the California courts to file lawsuits — knowing the politicians posing as judges would back their play.
They blocked travel bans designed to keep Americans safe from terrorists and border security efforts to stop the flow of illegals, drug cartels, and human traffickers. The radical Ninth was willing to trample the U.S. Constitution and soil the oath they took to uphold it. But President Trump played the long-game, and the liberal zealots that once ruled the Ninth have been gelded.
In a stunning decision by the Ninth, the Trump Administration recently won a favorable 2-1 ruling that allows the Department of Justice to withhold funding from so-called “Sanctuary Cities” that refuse to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, such as Los Angeles in this case.
“The panel rejected Los Angeles’s argument that DOJ’s practice of giving additional consideration to applicants that choose to further the two specified federal goals violated the Constitution’s Spending Clause,” Judge Sandra Ikuta and Judge Jay Bybee reportedly wrote. “The panel held that DOJ did not exceed its statutory authority in awarding bonus points to applicants that selected the illegal immigration focus area or that agreed to the Certification.”
The dissenter was Obama-appointed Judge Kim Wardlaw, a well-known radical Democrat.
It seems almost far-fetched that the Trump Administration could win a decision given the decades of institutional bias in the Nutty Ninth. But if President Trump is anything, it is persistent. Much to the chagrin of impartial judges in the U.S., the president called the corrupt Ninth out. Everyday Americans watched the drama unfold as liberal activists pretending to be judges ruled against the Trump Administration on every major issue. But each time, they were overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court and publicly disgraced.
While the facts were clearly on the president’s side, he also shrugged off the political courtesy known as “blue slip” consulting with state senators before nominating judges in their region. California Senators Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein were furious when Trump snubbed them.
“I repeatedly told the White House I wanted to reach an agreement on a package of Ninth Circuit nominees,” Sen. Feinstein reportedly said. “But last night the White House moved forward without consulting me, picking controversial candidates from its initial list and another individual with no judicial experience who had not previously been suggested.”
While Democrats continue to threaten to add numerous liberal judges to the U.S. Supreme Court to corrupt it, President Trump has leveled the playing field. The president has already seated seven judges on the once politically-balanced Ninth Circuit, bringing the tally to 16 Democrat- and 12 Republican-appointed judges. Trump is expected to seat another judge in the near future to fill a vacancy. The shift away from liberal judicial activism to legally-based decisions has earned the Trump Administration wins thought inconceivable just two years ago.
“The new judges will increase the credibility of this court,” Family Research Council vice president Travis Weber said. “We should have judges that interpret the Constitution rather than activists trying to legislate from the bench, which we’ve seen from the Ninth Circuit.”
In June, the Trump Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services won a groundbreaking 3-0 decision that allows federal funds to be restricted to so-called “family planning” clinics that profit from abortions. Legal experts, such as Thomas Jipping of the Edwin Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation, agree that Democrat presidents such as Obama-appointed judges they knew would tow the political line for them. Republicans look for impartial rulings and faithfulness to the Constitution.
“Republican presidents are more likely to appoint constitutionalists. Democratic presidents are more likely to appoint activists,” Jipping reportedly said.
The blue slip courtesy allowed liberal senators to run amok and turn the Ninth Circuit into an arm of the Democratic Party. President Trump was wise to stop the madness and restore at least some semblance of fairness. The days of phony judges are coming to an end. Trump’s reformation of the corrupt Ninth Circuit illustrates justice can be restored if Americans vote to Keep America Great in 2020.
