NBC News has served up a story that says more about the current judicial climate than perhaps it intended.
According to the outlet, a dozen federal judges—speaking anonymously, of course—are wringing their hands over the Supreme Court’s habit of siding with President Trump’s administration in key cases, often through emergency rulings that overturn lower court decisions. Their complaint? The High Court isn’t explaining itself enough, and by doing so, it’s making them look bad.
Have these judges considered not making insane, legally indefensible rulings that require SCOTUS to slap them down? https://t.co/k1X8coDbrQ
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) September 4, 2025
In their own words, it’s “inexcusable.” Some even said the Supreme Court has “thrown them under the bus.” Another judge went so far as to predict that criticism from Trump and his officials could lead to violence: “Somebody is going to die.”
The language is dramatic, but let’s unpack it.
For years, lower courts—especially in circuits dominated by liberal benches—have been notorious for issuing nationwide injunctions against Trump’s policies on immigration, tariffs, and executive authority. These rulings were often less about the law and more about ideology. Remember when a single district judge tried to block deportation flights to El Salvador, and Trump blasted the decision as grounds for impeachment? Or when Stephen Miller called the flood of anti-Trump injunctions a “judicial coup”? The Supreme Court has repeatedly stepped in to restore order, often siding with Trump’s administration.
Now, those same judges don’t like how it looks.
One Obama-appointed judge in the NBC report did acknowledge the obvious: “Trump derangement syndrome” has crept into the judiciary. In other words, some judges are so enraged by Trump that they’ve forgotten to stay in their lane. Instead of interpreting the law, they’ve been legislating from the bench—knowing that even if they’re overturned, they’ll still earn applause from the anti-Trump crowd.
What makes this latest story revealing is not just the grumbling but the anonymity. These judges are content to attack the Supreme Court in the shadows but unwilling to put their names behind their criticisms. Meanwhile, Trump and his allies have never minced words, openly calling out rulings they view as activist overreach.
Here’s the real rub: the High Court’s role is not to soothe the egos of lower court judges. It’s to apply the law. And when a lower court veers into politics, the Supreme Court has every right—and indeed the duty—to swat it down, with or without a long essay attached.
