With the conservative justices on the Supreme Court undercutting the lower courts with their controversial 6-3 ruling on citizenship birthrights, the Washington Post editorial board suggested they should prepare to reap the whirlwind.
On Friday, as the court headed off to their break until October, the nation's court of last resort handcuffed the lower courts from ruling on simple constitutional issues that could and should be applied elsewhere.
That, in turn, allows Donald Trump's administration to get away with almost anything as challenges are forced to "percolate up" to the Supreme Court.
According to the editors at the Post, those who sided with Trump need to step up and "own" the legal chaos they have unleashed on the U.S.
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"The justices curbed the power of lower court judges to block illegal presidential actions, even as the sitting president tries to do things that are plainly unconstitutional," they wrote before bluntly stating, "Now they need to own the consequences of their ruling. More than ever, they must be willing to act with speed and force when the president attempts to violate Americans’ rights."
They noted, "the justices have now reserved to themselves alone the ability to issue nationwide injunctions. This will make it easier for the president and his executive branch officials to violate even black-letter constitutional rights as the country waits for the high court to tell them to stop."
Noting that it was not "unreasonable" to limit some lower courts to not overstep their authority, the editors cautioned that Republicans, "should consider how they would feel if the next Democratic president were as eager to test legal lines as Trump is."
'Meanwhile, the Supreme Court must raise its vigilance, halting severe abridgment of American liberties promptly and forcefully. The justices have now placed this responsibility upon themselves alone. They cannot act as though they have changed nothing," they concluded.
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