Do Federal District Judges Have the Authority to Issue Universal Injunctions? Sen. Kennedy Weighs In

As RedState has widely covered, "radical left" activist federal district judges have continued to issue a seemingly endless list of injunctions against President Donald Trump's executives orders as he attempts to proceed with his efforts to right the wrongs of the disastrous four years of the Biden-Harris administration, including most recently, the deportation of violent illegal aliens.

While I'm loathe to describe the situation as a "constitutional crisis," given the Democrats' ridiculous obsession with hyperventilating about the next "constitutional crisis" brought about by Trump every 10 seconds, we've clearly reached a point where something must be done to stop the blatant attempts to stop the president of the United States from doing the job he was elected to do.

And the place to start, it seems to me, is by determining whether or not federal district judges have the authority to issue universal (or nationwide) injunctions.

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Let's begin with comments on the issue from Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy, also an attorney and previous adjunct professor at Louisiana State University’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center.

Fox News senior political commentator Brit Hume described Kennedy's comments thusly:

This is worth watching, especially if you've wondered where federal district judges get their authority to issue universal injunctions. Hint: there is no such authority. They just do it.

Here's the inimitable senator at his best during a Senate Judiciary Committee as he questions Assistant Attorney General nominee Brett Shumate about universal injunctions used against Trump.

Kennedy asked Shumate: "Mr. Shumate, what's a universal injunction?"

Shumate responded:

Senator, a universal injunction is what we call an order from a court enjoining the government in a way that goes beyond the parties to the case that applies nationwide or in some cases universally to enjoin the government.

Kennedy followed up: "Is it sometimes referred to as a nationwide injunction?"

"Yes it is, senator," Shumate answered.

Kennedy:

What's the statutory basis for a federal judge issuing an order that affects others than the parties before the court?

Shumate: "I'm not aware of a statutory basis, Senator."

Kennedy: "There is not statutory basis, is there?"

Shumate: "No, Senator."

Kennedy:

What's the United States Supreme Court opinion, which interprets the Constitution, in a way that allows a federal district court judge to do this? Can you name me that case?

Like all good lawyers, Kennedy knew in advance what Shumate's answers would be to his questions.

Shumate: "I'm not aware of one, Senator."

Kennedy then asked the assistant AG nominee to "explain how this works."

You have a plaintiff and you have a defendant. And the plaintiff files a lawsuit and goes in front of a federal judge. a federal judge has a certain jurisdiction ... and subject matter over the parties; the plaintiff and the defendant. They're the only two people in court. How can a federal judge issue an order that affects everybody else — other than those in front of him or her? How's that possible?

Shumate was on it:

It shouldn't be possible, Senator. But district courts do it all the time. I think on the theory that the courts need to enjoin a federal policy from going into effect, and they also will enjoin it nationwide so all non-parties are protected by that injunction.

And there, in a nutshell, it is.

Activist judges legislate from bench, handing down stays and injunctions based solely on their predisposed political views — the U.S. Constitution be damned. At least, they hope so.

In the case of injunctions against Trump, Kennedy summed it up perfectly:

The universal injunction has become a weapon against the Trump admin.
It’s long past time to put an end to this lawless practice.

That it is, Sen. Kennedy.

The universal injunction has become a weapon against the Trump admin.

It’s long past time to put an end to this lawless practice. pic.twitter.com/WQlle4jA1T
— John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) March 26, 2025

Given the steely resolve of Donald Trump and the current makeup of the Supreme Court, now is a perfect time to do so, as conservatism in America is seeing the best opportunity it has seen in years.

Editor's Note: Radical leftist judges are doing everything they can to hamstring President Trump's agenda to make America great again.

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