Constitutional Law,
Administrative/Regulatory
Jun. 4, 2025
One big beautiful loophole: How the budget bill guts the rule of law
A little-noticed provision in the House's "One Big Beautiful Bill" threatens to strip federal courts of their contempt power for enforcing injunctions unless plaintiffs post security, marking an unprecedented erosion of judicial authority and a potential shield for the Trump Administration against legal accountability.
John H. Minan
Emeritus Professor of Law
University of San Diego School of Law
Professor Minan is a former attorney with the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. and the former chairman of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Board.
The Constitution does not tolerate the willful disobedience of
judicial orders. Yet the discretionary authority of the judicial branch to use
contempt to enforce its orders is currently under attack from an unlikely
source -
"The Great Big Beautiful Bill" pending in Congress. If allowed to stand, it
would be a dramatic setback to the rule of law.
On March 11, Pre...
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