US Supreme Court curtails power of individual judges to block Trump
A divided US Supreme Court handed President Donald Trump a major victory on Friday by curbing the power of lone federal judges to block executive actions.
In a 6-3 ruling stemming from Trump's bid to end birthright citizenship, the court said nationwide injunctions issued by district court judges "likely exceed the equitable authority that Congress has granted to federal courts."
The top court did not rule on the constitutionality of Trump's executive order seeking to end automatic citizenship for children born on American soil.
But the broader decision on the scope of judicial rulings removes a big roadblock to Trump's often highly controversial policy agenda and has far-reaching ramifications for the ability of the judiciary to rein in Trump or future American presidents.
Trump celebrated by telling reporters he had "a whole list" of policies he could now proceed on without opposition in the courts.
Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship is just one of a number of his moves that have been blocked by judges around the country -- both Democratic and Republican appointees – since he took office in January.
Courts have, for example, blocked or slowed down his hardline immigration crackdown, firing of federal employees, efforts to end diversity programs and punitive actions against law firms and universities.
Past presidents have also complained about national injunctions shackling their agenda, but such orders have sharply risen under Trump, who saw more in his first two months than Democrat Joe Biden did during his first three years in office.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a Trump appointee who authored the majority opinion joined by the other five conservative justices, said "the universal injunction was conspicuously nonexistent for most of our Nation's history."
"Federal courts do not exercise general oversight of the Executive Branch," Barrett wrote.
"When a court concludes that the Executive Branch has acted unlawfully, the answer is not for the court to exceed its power, too," she said.
The three liberal justices dissented with Justice Sonia Sotomayor saying "no right is safe in the new legal regime the Court creates."
"The Court's decision is nothing less than an open invitation for the Government to bypass the Constitution," Sotomayor said.
"The Executive Branch can now enforce policies that flout settled law and violate countless individuals' constitutional rights, and the federal courts will be hamstrung to stop its actions fully," she said.
- 'GIANT WIN' -
Trump, in a post on Truth Social, welcomed the ruling as a "GIANT WIN."
The case was ostensibly about Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship, which was deemed unconstitutional by courts in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state.
But it actually focused on whether a single federal district court judge has the right to issue a nationwide block to a presidential decree with a universal injunction.
The issue has become a rallying cry for Trump and his Republican allies, who accuse the judiciary of impeding his agenda against the will of voters.
Steven Schwinn, a law professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, said the court's ruling "sharply undermines the power of federal courts to rein-in lawless actions by the government."
"The ruling will likely create a patchwork of birthright citizenship rights," Schwinn told AFP, where it is recognized in some locations for people who have successfully sued and not recognized for people who have not sued.
"This patchwork approach to individual rights is inconsistent with our history and tradition of federal rights in the United States and is inconsistent with the rule of law," he said.
The Trump administration had asked the Supreme Court to restrict the application of a district court's injunction solely to the parties who brought the case and the district where the judge presides.
Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship decrees that children born to parents in the United States illegally or on temporary visas would not automatically become citizens.
The three lower courts ruled that to be a violation of the 14th Amendment, which states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
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Defence analysts believe Mr Trump is unlikely to scrap the $368 billion submarine program altogether but might demand a bigger contribution from Australia for the US submarine industrial base. Australia has already made a first $800 million down-payment of a total $4.7 billion for its plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines. The US will continue to put pressure on Australia to boost its defence spending after a pledge from European leaders, a former ambassador says. NATO member nations have agreed to spend five per cent of their economic output on defence, and security more broadly, following demands by US President Donald Trump. The US has called on Australia to massively increase the defence budget by tens of billions of dollars to 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product. But Anthony Albanese is standing firm and has maintained Australia will decide its spending. 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"If we're being seen to kind of 'play ball' on a whole range of political intelligence, basing and other areas, then the spending is going to be a small part of that story." The Pentagon's 30-day review of its nuclear submarine deal with Australia under the AUKUS partnership is under way. Mr Sinodinos said there was strong support for the security pact within the state department and Congress. Defence analysts believe Mr Trump is unlikely to scrap the $368 billion submarine program altogether but might demand a bigger contribution from Australia for the US submarine industrial base. Australia has already made a first $800 million down-payment of a total $4.7 billion for its plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines. The US will continue to put pressure on Australia to boost its defence spending after a pledge from European leaders, a former ambassador says. 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US trade deals may be wrapped up by September: Bessent
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The United States sent a new proposal to the European Union on Thursday and India sent a delegation to Washington DC for more talks. "So we have countries approaching us with very good deals," Bessent said on Fox Business Network. "We have 18 important trading partners. ... If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18, there are another important 20 relationships, then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day," Bessent said. He did not mention any changes to a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or have tariffs spike higher, but has previously said that countries negotiating in good faith could get deals. Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday that he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter," adding that within the next week and a half, he would notify countries of their tariff rates. "I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: Congratulations. You're paying 25 per cent" tariffs, Trump said in an apparent joke. Bessent said the United States and China had resolved issues surrounding shipments of Chinese rare earth minerals and magnets to the US, further modifying a deal reached in May in Geneva. As part of its retaliation against new US tariffs, China suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets, upending supply chains central to car makers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. During US-China talks in May in Geneva, China committed to removing the measures imposed since April 2 but those critical materials were not moving as fast as agreed, Bessent said, so the US put countermeasures in place. "I am confident now that we - as agreed, the magnets will flow," Bessent said, adding that these materials would go to US firms that had received them previously on a regular basis. He did not disclose details of the latest agreement, which Trump administration officials said was reached earlier this week. Efforts to resolve the dispute included a phone call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping which led to teams from both sides meeting again in London, as negotiators try to end a trade war between the world's biggest economies. China's commerce ministry said on Friday the two countries have confirmed details on the framework of implementing the Geneva trade talks consensus. It said China will approve export applications of controlled items in accordance with the law. It did not mention rare earths. China has dual-use restrictions in place on rare earths which it takes "very seriously" and has been vetting buyers to ensure that materials are not diverted for US military uses, according to an industry source. This has slowed down the licensing process. Indian government sources told Reuters that a trade delegation from New Delhi was back in Washington DC on Friday aiming to sew up a limited US trade deal ahead of the July 9 deadline. Trump administration officials frequently count India among countries with which trade talks are at an advanced stage, along with Japan. But early optimism about a simple deal to reduce India's high tariffs has hit roadblocks over disagreements on US import duties for car parts, steel and farm goods, Indian officials with direct knowledge said. Trump said that his administration was looking to get a "full trade barrier dropping" deal with India. "I'm not sure that that's going to happen but as of this moment, we've agreed to that - go into India and trade," Trump said. Trade deals between US President Donald Trump's administration and other countries could be done by the September 1 Labor Day holiday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says. Bessent on Friday cited talks with 18 main United States trading partners and new revisions to a deal with China aimed at expediting rare earths shipments. The United States sent a new proposal to the European Union on Thursday and India sent a delegation to Washington DC for more talks. "So we have countries approaching us with very good deals," Bessent said on Fox Business Network. "We have 18 important trading partners. ... If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18, there are another important 20 relationships, then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day," Bessent said. He did not mention any changes to a July 9 deadline for countries to reach deals with the United States or have tariffs spike higher, but has previously said that countries negotiating in good faith could get deals. Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday that he could extend the tariff deadline or "make it shorter," adding that within the next week and a half, he would notify countries of their tariff rates. "I'd like to just send letters out to everybody: Congratulations. You're paying 25 per cent" tariffs, Trump said in an apparent joke. Bessent said the United States and China had resolved issues surrounding shipments of Chinese rare earth minerals and magnets to the US, further modifying a deal reached in May in Geneva. As part of its retaliation against new US tariffs, China suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets, upending supply chains central to car makers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. During US-China talks in May in Geneva, China committed to removing the measures imposed since April 2 but those critical materials were not moving as fast as agreed, Bessent said, so the US put countermeasures in place. "I am confident now that we - as agreed, the magnets will flow," Bessent said, adding that these materials would go to US firms that had received them previously on a regular basis. He did not disclose details of the latest agreement, which Trump administration officials said was reached earlier this week. Efforts to resolve the dispute included a phone call between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping which led to teams from both sides meeting again in London, as negotiators try to end a trade war between the world's biggest economies. China's commerce ministry said on Friday the two countries have confirmed details on the framework of implementing the Geneva trade talks consensus. It said China will approve export applications of controlled items in accordance with the law. It did not mention rare earths. China has dual-use restrictions in place on rare earths which it takes "very seriously" and has been vetting buyers to ensure that materials are not diverted for US military uses, according to an industry source. This has slowed down the licensing process. Indian government sources told Reuters that a trade delegation from New Delhi was back in Washington DC on Friday aiming to sew up a limited US trade deal ahead of the July 9 deadline. Trump administration officials frequently count India among countries with which trade talks are at an advanced stage, along with Japan. But early optimism about a simple deal to reduce India's high tariffs has hit roadblocks over disagreements on US import duties for car parts, steel and farm goods, Indian officials with direct knowledge said. Trump said that his administration was looking to get a "full trade barrier dropping" deal with India. "I'm not sure that that's going to happen but as of this moment, we've agreed to that - go into India and trade," Trump said.
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Rwanda and DR Congo sign peace agreement in US
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"They were going at it for many years, and with machetes - it is one of the worst, one of the worst wars that anyone has ever seen. And I just happened to have somebody that was able to get it settled," Trump said on Friday, ahead of the two sides signing the deal. "We're getting, for the United States, a lot of the mineral rights from the Congo as part of it. They're so honored to be here. They never thought they'd be coming." Trump was due to meet the foreign ministers in the Oval Office later on Friday. Rwanda has sent at least 7000 soldiers over the border, according to analysts and diplomats, in support of the M23 rebels, who seized eastern DR Congo's two largest cities and lucrative mining areas in a lightning advance earlier this year. The gains this year by M23, the latest cycle in a decades-old conflict with roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, sparked fears of a wider war drawing in DR Congo's neighbours. 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There is an understanding that progress in ongoing talks in Qatar - a separate but parallel mediation effort with delegations from the DR Congolese government and M23 - is essential before the signing of the economic framework, the source said. The agreement signed on Friday was set to voice "full support" for the Qatar-hosted talks, according to the initialled version. It also says DR Congo and Rwanda will form a joint security co-ordination mechanism within 30 days and implement a plan agreed last year to monitor and verify the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers within three months. DR Congolese military operations targeting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a DR Congo-based armed group that includes remnants of Rwanda's former army and militias that carried out the 1994 genocide, are meant to conclude over the same timeframe. Rwanda has long denied helping M23, saying its forces are acting in self-defence against DR Congo's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. "This is the best chance we have at a peace process for the moment despite all the challenges and flaws," said Jason Stearns, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University, specialising in Africa's Great Lakes region. Similar formulas have been attempted before, he added, and "it will be up to the US as they are the godfather of this deal, to make sure both sides abide by the terms." Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed a US-brokered peace agreement, raising hopes for an end to fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more so far this year. The agreement marks a breakthrough in talks held by the administration of US President Donald Trump, which also aim to attract billions of dollars of investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals. At a ceremony with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Department of State, the two countries' foreign ministers signed the agreement pledging to implement a 2024 deal that would have Rwandan troops withdrawing from eastern DR Congo within 90 days, according to a version initialled by technical teams last week and seen by Reuters. The two countries will also launch a regional economic integration framework within 90 days, the agreement said. "They were going at it for many years, and with machetes - it is one of the worst, one of the worst wars that anyone has ever seen. And I just happened to have somebody that was able to get it settled," Trump said on Friday, ahead of the two sides signing the deal. "We're getting, for the United States, a lot of the mineral rights from the Congo as part of it. They're so honored to be here. They never thought they'd be coming." Trump was due to meet the foreign ministers in the Oval Office later on Friday. Rwanda has sent at least 7000 soldiers over the border, according to analysts and diplomats, in support of the M23 rebels, who seized eastern DR Congo's two largest cities and lucrative mining areas in a lightning advance earlier this year. The gains this year by M23, the latest cycle in a decades-old conflict with roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, sparked fears of a wider war drawing in DR Congo's neighbours. Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe called the deal a turning point. DR Congo Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner said the agreement must be followed by disengagement. The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the initialled version of the agreement. Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Africa, told Reuters in May that the US wanted the peace deal and accompanying minerals deals to be signed simultaneously this year. However, the agreement signed on Friday gives DR Congo and Rwanda three months to launch a framework "to expand foreign trade and investment derived from regional critical mineral supply chains," according to the initialled version seen by Reuters. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday that another agreement on the framework would be signed by the heads of state at a separate White House event at an unspecified time. There is an understanding that progress in ongoing talks in Qatar - a separate but parallel mediation effort with delegations from the DR Congolese government and M23 - is essential before the signing of the economic framework, the source said. The agreement signed on Friday was set to voice "full support" for the Qatar-hosted talks, according to the initialled version. It also says DR Congo and Rwanda will form a joint security co-ordination mechanism within 30 days and implement a plan agreed last year to monitor and verify the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers within three months. DR Congolese military operations targeting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a DR Congo-based armed group that includes remnants of Rwanda's former army and militias that carried out the 1994 genocide, are meant to conclude over the same timeframe. Rwanda has long denied helping M23, saying its forces are acting in self-defence against DR Congo's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. "This is the best chance we have at a peace process for the moment despite all the challenges and flaws," said Jason Stearns, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University, specialising in Africa's Great Lakes region. Similar formulas have been attempted before, he added, and "it will be up to the US as they are the godfather of this deal, to make sure both sides abide by the terms." Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed a US-brokered peace agreement, raising hopes for an end to fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more so far this year. The agreement marks a breakthrough in talks held by the administration of US President Donald Trump, which also aim to attract billions of dollars of investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals. At a ceremony with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Department of State, the two countries' foreign ministers signed the agreement pledging to implement a 2024 deal that would have Rwandan troops withdrawing from eastern DR Congo within 90 days, according to a version initialled by technical teams last week and seen by Reuters. The two countries will also launch a regional economic integration framework within 90 days, the agreement said. "They were going at it for many years, and with machetes - it is one of the worst, one of the worst wars that anyone has ever seen. And I just happened to have somebody that was able to get it settled," Trump said on Friday, ahead of the two sides signing the deal. "We're getting, for the United States, a lot of the mineral rights from the Congo as part of it. They're so honored to be here. They never thought they'd be coming." Trump was due to meet the foreign ministers in the Oval Office later on Friday. Rwanda has sent at least 7000 soldiers over the border, according to analysts and diplomats, in support of the M23 rebels, who seized eastern DR Congo's two largest cities and lucrative mining areas in a lightning advance earlier this year. The gains this year by M23, the latest cycle in a decades-old conflict with roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, sparked fears of a wider war drawing in DR Congo's neighbours. Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe called the deal a turning point. DR Congo Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner said the agreement must be followed by disengagement. The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the initialled version of the agreement. Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Africa, told Reuters in May that the US wanted the peace deal and accompanying minerals deals to be signed simultaneously this year. However, the agreement signed on Friday gives DR Congo and Rwanda three months to launch a framework "to expand foreign trade and investment derived from regional critical mineral supply chains," according to the initialled version seen by Reuters. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday that another agreement on the framework would be signed by the heads of state at a separate White House event at an unspecified time. There is an understanding that progress in ongoing talks in Qatar - a separate but parallel mediation effort with delegations from the DR Congolese government and M23 - is essential before the signing of the economic framework, the source said. The agreement signed on Friday was set to voice "full support" for the Qatar-hosted talks, according to the initialled version. It also says DR Congo and Rwanda will form a joint security co-ordination mechanism within 30 days and implement a plan agreed last year to monitor and verify the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers within three months. DR Congolese military operations targeting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a DR Congo-based armed group that includes remnants of Rwanda's former army and militias that carried out the 1994 genocide, are meant to conclude over the same timeframe. Rwanda has long denied helping M23, saying its forces are acting in self-defence against DR Congo's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. "This is the best chance we have at a peace process for the moment despite all the challenges and flaws," said Jason Stearns, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University, specialising in Africa's Great Lakes region. Similar formulas have been attempted before, he added, and "it will be up to the US as they are the godfather of this deal, to make sure both sides abide by the terms." Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed a US-brokered peace agreement, raising hopes for an end to fighting that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more so far this year. The agreement marks a breakthrough in talks held by the administration of US President Donald Trump, which also aim to attract billions of dollars of investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals. At a ceremony with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Department of State, the two countries' foreign ministers signed the agreement pledging to implement a 2024 deal that would have Rwandan troops withdrawing from eastern DR Congo within 90 days, according to a version initialled by technical teams last week and seen by Reuters. The two countries will also launch a regional economic integration framework within 90 days, the agreement said. "They were going at it for many years, and with machetes - it is one of the worst, one of the worst wars that anyone has ever seen. And I just happened to have somebody that was able to get it settled," Trump said on Friday, ahead of the two sides signing the deal. "We're getting, for the United States, a lot of the mineral rights from the Congo as part of it. They're so honored to be here. They never thought they'd be coming." Trump was due to meet the foreign ministers in the Oval Office later on Friday. Rwanda has sent at least 7000 soldiers over the border, according to analysts and diplomats, in support of the M23 rebels, who seized eastern DR Congo's two largest cities and lucrative mining areas in a lightning advance earlier this year. The gains this year by M23, the latest cycle in a decades-old conflict with roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, sparked fears of a wider war drawing in DR Congo's neighbours. Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe called the deal a turning point. DR Congo Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner said the agreement must be followed by disengagement. The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the initialled version of the agreement. Massad Boulos, Trump's senior adviser for Africa, told Reuters in May that the US wanted the peace deal and accompanying minerals deals to be signed simultaneously this year. However, the agreement signed on Friday gives DR Congo and Rwanda three months to launch a framework "to expand foreign trade and investment derived from regional critical mineral supply chains," according to the initialled version seen by Reuters. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday that another agreement on the framework would be signed by the heads of state at a separate White House event at an unspecified time. There is an understanding that progress in ongoing talks in Qatar - a separate but parallel mediation effort with delegations from the DR Congolese government and M23 - is essential before the signing of the economic framework, the source said. The agreement signed on Friday was set to voice "full support" for the Qatar-hosted talks, according to the initialled version. It also says DR Congo and Rwanda will form a joint security co-ordination mechanism within 30 days and implement a plan agreed last year to monitor and verify the withdrawal of Rwandan soldiers within three months. DR Congolese military operations targeting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, a DR Congo-based armed group that includes remnants of Rwanda's former army and militias that carried out the 1994 genocide, are meant to conclude over the same timeframe. Rwanda has long denied helping M23, saying its forces are acting in self-defence against DR Congo's army and ethnic Hutu militiamen linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide. "This is the best chance we have at a peace process for the moment despite all the challenges and flaws," said Jason Stearns, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University, specialising in Africa's Great Lakes region. Similar formulas have been attempted before, he added, and "it will be up to the US as they are the godfather of this deal, to make sure both sides abide by the terms."
