Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz clashed with Democrat Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar Wednesday over the record number of judicial injunctions put forward in an attempt to block President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Federal judges handed down 64 legal injunctions against President Donald Trump during his first term in office, which is higher than the total amount of injunctions given out in the entire 20th century, Cruz said. The Texas senator, who said these injunctions are an “abuse of power,” challenged Klobuchar on the politicization of the judges’ orders given that they have all been filed in blue districts.
“Let me start with a few things. Number one, we love the democracy and I believe what we should be having is a civil debate about how we can best, if Donald Trump wants to make changes to the government, we should be doing it in a legal way, not how he’s doing it,” Klobuchar said. “And the only reason there’s all these injunctions, Senator Cruz, is because he’s violating the Constitution.”
“Why don’t you file them in red districts?” Cruz interjected. “Why don’t you file them in red districts? Why are the Democrat attorneys general seeking out left-wing, blue swing districts?”
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Klobuchar complained about Cruz debating her on the topic during the hearing, with Cruz then daring her to answer his question. Republican Florida Sen. Ashley Moody then called for a “point of order.”
“Senator Moody, we have debates on this committee. They occur regularly,” Cruz said. “She’s welcome to answer the question or not, it’s her choice.”
“It’s so exciting to be following Senator Cruz once again … and I will take more than my time since he’s taken more of his time to yell at me,” Klobuchar said.
As of April 2024, the Department of Justice identified six nationwide injunctions during former President George W. Bush’s administration, 12 during former President Barack Obama’s administration and 14 from the first three years of former President Joe Biden’s first term, according to the Congressional Research Service. A total of 17 cases in which nationwide injunctions were issued between Jan. 20 and March 27, 2025.
Federal judges have issued orders attempting to slow both the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the administration’s deportations efforts. To fast-track the deportations, Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime law, in order to deport the gang members without them facing an immigration judge. In an attempt to advance Trump’s agenda, Republican lawmakers have introduced resolutions to impeach these judges.
Republican Texas Rep. Brandon Gill filed articles of impeachment against U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in mid-March for issuing an injunction to block the deportations of over 200 members of Tren de Agua, a violent Venezuelan criminal gang, to El Salvador and Honduras. The White House denied the accusations that they defied Boasberg’s order, stating that the flights were already outside of U.S. territory when the ruling was handed down.
Republican Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden introduced a resolution in February to impeach U.S. District Court Judge Paul Engelmayer, an Obama-era appointee, for temporarily blocking DOGE from accessing Treasury Department records. Republican Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde announced Feb. 12 that he drafted articles of impeachment against U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr., who issued a temporary order blocking Trump’s spending freeze.
Democrat New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez filed articles of impeachment against U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito in July 2024 over their alleged refusal to recuse themselves from cases in which “they hold widely documented financial and personal entanglements.” Legal experts said Ocasio-Cortez’s accusations lacked evidence and were not brought forth in good faith.
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