Buchanan: President cannot accept judicial power grab or rely on ‘cowardly’ Congress
Pat Buchanan to Trump: ‘Defy’ Ruling on Executive Orders.
Longtime conservative pundit Pat Buchanan said Friday that President Donald Trump should take the suspension of his executive orders on immigration directly to the Supreme Court.
Speaking on “The Laura Ingraham Show” Friday morning, Buchanan, the one-time communications director for former President Reagan, said Trump must not let stand the assertion of judicial power over lawful presidential orders.
“It’s a natural inclination. [Judges] put on these robes and all of a sudden, they rule our lives.”
On Thursday night, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld a federal judge’s decision to suspend enforcement of Trump’s travel ban executive order.
Trump and his advisers are reportedly furious, as they see the order as a lawful exercise of presidential power upon foreign policy and the nation’s immigration and customs policies.
The order targeted for 90 days the travelers from seven troubled nations in Africa and the Middle East. The order also suspends intake of refugees for 120 days, and suspends indefinitely the entry of Syrian refugees.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is likely the last stop for the order, unless Trump asks for an emergency hearing by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Buchanan said the order should not stand.
“I really think [the Trump administration] ought to go up to the Supreme Court on this,” Buchanan told LifeZette Editor-in-Chief Laura Ingraham. “And the reason is — let’s find out if the Supreme Court is going to assert superior authority over the national security decisions of the White House and the president of the United States by federal courts, so in other words they become the dominant power … It was Lincoln who said the one who decides what the law says, he’s the lawgiver.”
Buchanan said Trump cannot rely on Congress “because it’s a cowardly institution.”
“[Congress] really doesn’t want responsibility,” said Buchanan. “They’re interested in self-preservation.”
Buchanan also floated the idea of ignoring the order. In the past, some presidents have defied court orders.
“You have to at some point defy them,” said Buchanan, citing advice he once gave Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts. “It’s a natural inclination. [Judges] put on these robes and all of a sudden, they rule our lives.”
Congress has the constitutional power to restrict the review powers of the federal courts, and should consider it, Buchanan said.
Buchanan also had a rebuke for U.S. Judge Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s nominee for the crucial ninth seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. Gorsuch reportedly told senators that he thought Trump’s criticism of a federal judge was “disheartening.”
“Gorsuch’s comments were disheartening and dismaying,” said Buchanan. “Why did he do that? What Trump said was, ‘Look, we got a so-called judge.’ So what?”
“Big deal,” said Ingraham, agreeing.
“Gorsuch should not have taken that shot at the man who appointed him and went on the line for him,” said Buchanan. “To me, it suggests an effort by Judge Gorsuch to get along … They want to be popular.”
Buchanan said he is wary of such positioning by conservative judges, as it could lead to decisions like that of Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, to uphold the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, in 2012.
Buchanan joked maybe Trump should replace Gorsuch with Judge William Pryor of Alabama, a man known for his uncompromising conservative principles.