ICYMI - House Panel Approves Issa Bill to Curb Nationwide Injunctions Blocking Trump Administration

Proposals to expand US trial courts and curb nationwide injunctions that a leading Republican lawmaker says are impeding President Donald Trump’s ability to carry out his agenda advanced out of the House Judiciary Committee.

The panel at a meeting on Wednesday approved Republican-led legislation to expand district courts over objections from Democrats, sending a revived measure adding more judges to the House floor after Joe Biden vetoed it last year.

Members voted 16-11 to approve the new version of the so-called JUDGES Act (HR 1702), which would add 63 permanent and three temporary federal district judgeships in an effort to alleviate pressure on understaffed benches.

The bill, led by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), moved largely along party lines, though Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif), whose home state would receive over a dozen new federal judges under the bill, joined Republicans to support it.

The proposal is likely to pass in the Republican-controlled House, as it did previously. However, its prospects are less clear in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed for bills to move forward.

Another measure put forward by Issa and voted out of the panel, 14-9, would restrict the authority of federal judges to hand down nationwide injunctions, or rulings that block policies from taking effect nationally.

Court rulings blocking Trump’s actions “are nothing more than partisan judicial overreach and have disrupted the president’s ability to carry out his lawful constitutional duty,” Issa said.

The committee approved an amendment to the proposal that would, as described during the meeting, allow nationwide injunctions in some instances, such as for litigation brought by multiple states, if heard by a panel of three trial court judges.

Excerpts From Bloomberg Law, House Panel Moves to Curb Nationwide Injunctions, Add Judges

By: Suzanne Monyak, Published March 5, 2025

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