US Vice President JD Vance expressed a view on executive power on Sunday that alarmed politicians and legal experts.
“If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal,” he posted on X.
“Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”
Vance’s comments came after a federal judge temporarily blocked the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by billionaire Elon Musk, from accessing Treasury Department data.
The judge halted DOGE’s move on Saturday after 19 Democratic attorneys general sued US President Donald Trump, alleging Musk’s team was given access to sensitive data in violation of federal law.
“If you believe any of the multiple federal courts that have ruled against you so far are exceeding their statutory or Constitutional authority, your recourse is to appeal,” former Representative Liz Cheney (Republican, Wyoming) posted on X in response to Vance’s tweet.
“You don’t get to rage-quit the Republic just because you are losing. That’s tyranny,” she added.
Federal courts provide a check on the executive branch by determining the legality of its actions and preventing it from acting beyond its constitutional authority.
Jaime Harrison, former Democratic National Committee chair, told Vance, “it’s called the US Constitution. Read it. Follow it. Keep your oath to protect it, but most importantly stop undermining it!”
Sen. Adam Schiff (Democrat, California) noted he and Vance both attended law school, “but we don’t have to be lawyers to know that ignoring court decisions we don’t like puts us on a dangerous path to lawlessness.”
“These are the words of a mad king,” wrote Rep. Sean Casten (Democrat, Illinois).
“They are not the words of someone who cherishes and defends the separation of powers innate to our Constitution. You’re smart enough to know better, JD. You’re just too cowardly to stand up to Trump & Musk,” he added.
Joe Walsh, a former Republican congressman from Illinois and a vocal Trump critic, warned Americans to “be very clear about what Trump/Vance are doing here. They’re laying the groundwork to defy a court order. They’re laying the groundwork to ignore the rule of law.”
Trump told Fox News in an interview that aired Sunday he “100% disagrees” with the judge’s ruling.
“I think it’s crazy. And we have to solve the efficiency problem. We have to solve the fraud, waste, abuse, all the things that have gone into the government,” he said, referring to the stated mission of Musk’s department.