Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor asserted the high court's power against challenges from President Donald Trump and his allies, The Hill reported. Although she didn't mention the president by name, the judge said that there were safeguards against turning the nation into a "monarchy."
Sotomayor made her remarks during a fireside chat with Knight Foundation CEO Maribel Pérez Wadsworth this week. The Obama-appointed justice was careful not to mention Trump.
However, her remarks come as the Trump administration pushed back on federal judges who have granted temporary injunctions against some of his executive orders. Sotomayor noted that the judiciary has "soft power" over laws in the U.S. even as Congress makes the laws.
"Our founders were hell-bent on ensuring that we didn’t have a monarchy. And the first way they thought of that was to give Congress the power of the purse, and because that’s an incredible power," Sotomayor claimed at the event in Miami Dade College in Florida.
According to the Washington Post, several of Trump's executive orders have been put on hold due to actions in federal courts. Trump's ban on birthright citizenship, his dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development, and other initiatives have been halted thanks to the judiciary.
Other edicts about allowing for transgender military members and banning transition for minors remain in limbo while the judges decide. About the only thing Trump has been granted is the buyout of federal employees.
There have been some questions about whether Trump will regard the court's decisions. From her remarks, it's clear that Sotomayor was making a point about the court's power over Trump.
"Court decisions stand. Whether one particular person chooses to abide by them or not, it doesn’t change the foundation that it’s still a court order that someone will respect at some point," the justice claimed.
"That’s the faith I have in this system. And that other actors in the system, whether it’s Congress or others, will follow the law, because it’s what we all take an oath of office to do," Sotomayor added.
Sotomayor and others insist on the judiciary's power, but the courts do not have absolute authority. Vice President J.D. Vance articulated the limits in a post to X, formerly Twitter, Sunday.
"If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that's also illegal," Vance wrote.
"Judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power," Vance concluded. If the judiciary is getting over its skis, these issues will need to be hashed out even while the Democrats cry foul.
If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal.
If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that's also illegal.
Judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) February 9, 2025
The tension between the executive and judicial branches of government was the intention of the founding of the government to ensure checks and balances. However, the fight will likely become particularly ruthless because of those who are intent on stopping Trump. He's ready for it.
