President Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to strip another power federal judges have used to block his agenda, a move that could let his administration keep enforcing rules even after a court finds them unlawful.
In an appeal reported Saturday by Reuters, the Justice Department argues that judges should only be able to block enforcement of a federal agency rule for the people or groups that sued. Everyone else could remain subject to the rule while litigation drags on.
"It would take longer for challengers to get unlawful regulations removed from the books,” Ronald Levin, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, told Reuters.
Siding with Trump "would give more flexibility to the executive branch," Aditya Bamzai, a University of Virginia administrative law expert, told Reuters. He said agencies could keep enforcing rules against everyone except the plaintiffs, potentially for years as litigation plays out.
The appeal follows Trump’s 2025 Supreme Court victory limiting nationwide injunctions. That ruling left intact a separate power courts have long exercised under the Administrative Procedure Act to set aside unlawful agency rules.
Trump’s Justice Department now wants the justices to limit that power, too.
The case started with a challenge by Texas medical providers and others to a rule intended to curb surprise medical bills. A federal appeals court struck down parts of the rule nationwide. The Justice Department is challenging how broadly the court’s decision applies.
"When an agency adopts a rule that has been held to be unlawful, sometimes the only sensible solution is to wipe it off the books," Levin said.