Vance Courts Trouble for Trump – WSJ

If the British coined the term too clever by half, Vice President JD Vance might own the political update of too smart by 99%. And Donald Trump might wonder at what point he asks his veep: Please stop helping at least when it comes to Mr. Trump s greatest legacy and biggest asset, the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Vance recently offered his own take on the role of that body, in particular Chief Justice John Roberts s profoundly wrong sentiment that the judiciary exists to check the excesses of the executive. The vice president finger-wagged that this was one-half of the job; the other half was to stop a small but substantial number of courts from telling the American people they re not allowed to have what they voted for, namely immigration enforcement. Also, to be extremely deferential to the political judgment made by the people s elected president of the United States.

Mr. Vance did at least preface his comments with a warning that they may prove inflammatory before inflaming away.

Students of law or of, well, grade school no doubt quickly picked up on the first problem. The foundation of the U.S. system is the constitutional separation of powers, checks and balances. Congress has the purse. The executive has the sword. The judiciary s power is to settle all Cases and Controversies arising under the Constitution and other laws. Far from being profoundly wrong, Chief Justice Roberts s sentiment was profoundly basic. To have a court that jumps to the will of a president or a changeable voting majority is to have . . . Venezuela. Mr. Vance, a Yale Law School graduate, surely would have disapproved of the court s rubber-stamping Joe Biden s student-loan forgiveness or vaccine mandates even though Mr. Biden won an election.

via www.wsj.com

Kimberley A. Strassel

I don’t know. Vance can put pressure on Roberts. This jawboning seems part and parcel of the separation of powers. Would Thomas or Alito tell Vance to keep quiet? I somehow doubt it.