Calls are growing for a judicial opponent of President Donald Trump to face consequences after blocking significant parts of his agenda this month.
A Rhode Island judge overseeing one of the latest legal challenges against Trump was condemned on Tuesday by GOP Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), who said the ruling by District Judge John McConnell is “hurting the American people” more than the president.
McConnell’s decision ordered the Trump administration to respect a previous restraining order which temporarily blocked his effort to pause federal grants and loans.
“You’re not just hurting the president,” Clyde told Fox News Digital. “You’re hurting the American people because they’re the ones who elected him, and they’re the ones who want him to do this – to exercise these specific authorities. And these judges are really denying the American people their rights.”
The root of Clyde’s ire against McConnell stems from a 2021 video resurfaced by conservative activists. In it, he argues that the judicial branch has the responsibility to “stand and enforce the rule of law, that is, against arbitrary and capricious actions by what could be a tyrant or could be whatnot.”
“You have to take a moment and realize that this, you know, middle-class, White, male, privileged person needs to understand the human being that comes before us that may be a woman, may be Black, may be transgender, may be poor, may be rich, may be – whatever,” McConnell said in the video, according to WPRI.
Rep. Clyde acknowledged that it’s reasonable for a judge to hold their own opinions and beliefs, but “they’re not overt and political in mentioning them,” saying “they don’t want to be seen as potentially having a conflict of interest.”
“And I think that’s very, very much the case when it comes to both Judge Engelmayer and Judge McConnell,” the lawmaker said.
If articles of impeachment are drawn up against McConnell, it would mark the second time this year that House Republicans have sought to oust judges who have stymied the Trump administration’s agenda. Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) has filed for the impeachment of U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer of Manhattan after he recently blocked the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive records at the U.S. Treasury Department.
Clyde told Fox News that he thinks the DOGE suit will “prevail on the merits of his case.”
“I think the president will certainly prevail on the merits of his case. He has the authority under Article II of the Constitution,” Clyde said. “But yet for the entire time of the restraining order, the judge will have prevented this duly elected authority from being exercised by the president. And also, they will have prevented the American people from dealing with waste, fraud and abuse in their government.”
The Georgia Republican encouraged other members of the House to sign on to his effort with Crane, saying that activist judges “need to understand that they’re not going to get away with it.”
“They can’t just stop the president from doing what the Constitution gives him the authority to do, and the people have given him the authority to do,” Clyde said
