Eric W. Profile picture
Jan 21 5 tweets 2 min read Read on X
Big win for President Trump in the normally hostile Fourth Circuit. Can district courts enjoin President Trump's efforts to stop paying environmental and agricultural grants? Unanimously "No." Judge Rushing (Trump) wrote for a panel including Biden-appointed Judge Heytens! Image
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Read the full opinion here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
*HUGE* finding that suits over ending grants must be redirected to the Court of Federal Claims under the Tucker Act. That means that the federal district judges who keep entering injunctions in Maryland and Virginia lack jurisdiction. Image
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Another *VITAL* point. Plaintiffs keep suing in federal courts because they want injunctions to force President Trump to pay the grants. But the Fourth Circuit astutely notes that lack of availability of injunctive relief does not defeat exclusive jurisdiction in the CFC Image
A final word to the wise from the Fourth Circuit: Matryoshka dolls of nesting injunctions cannot defeat appellate review. The Fourth Circuit also removes a later-entered injunction that was a belt-and-suspenders relief for Plaintiffs Image

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More from @EWess92

Feb 7
🚨🚨ENORMOUS Immigration win for President Trump. The Fifth Circuit, the first federal court to address President Trump's expedited removal efforts, sides with the administration. Illegal aliens may be detained and removed! Judge Jones, joined by Duncan. Judge Douglas dissents. Image
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Read the full opinion, argued *yesterday* here:

This will help slow down or stop the attempt by immigration lawyers and activists to clog the courts.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/2…
It is worth noting that several brave district judges, including Judges Pacold (N.D. Ill.) and Judge Divine (E.D.M.O.) came to this result, while many others did not.
Read 15 tweets
Dec 17, 2025
Can President Trump deploy the National Guard in DC? Unanimous opinion by Judge Miller (Obama) joined by Judges Katsas and Rao (Trump) says "Yes." Huge win for the President. Judge Rao writes separately to question whether DC can sue at all. She thinks probably not. Image
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Read the full opinion and concurrence here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
If interested, I raised some of the issues put forth by Judge Rao (joined by Katsas) in a thread. It is not clear that DC AG can sue the federal government at all.
Read 4 tweets
Dec 6, 2025
Everyone agrees that a child born to US citizens in the United States is an American citizen. A child born to Canadian parents in Canada is not. But determining what the Constitution mandates regarding Birthright Citizenship is a tough question. 24 States weighed in on the limits Image
(Everything on this thread is pulled from the excellent brief filed by @AGTennessee and @AGIowa , and which I had the privilege of working on. So if there's some kind of implicit bias in explaining one's own brief, consider it disclosed!) ((Quotes adjusted for character limit))
Some table setting: "Contra plaintiffs’ thin historical arguments, contemporaneous sources instead support what common sense suggests: Conferring United States citizenship requires a more meaningful connection than mere presence by happenstance or illegality." Image
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Read 18 tweets
Nov 29, 2025
Did then-President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry adopt a legal theory justifying President Trump taxing remittances? Yes! Look at the denial of the Keystone XL pipeline. Obama/Kerry argued that needing "leverage" in international negotiations justified executive action. Image
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What does that mean? That means that when President Trump wants "leverage" with our neighbors, he can take Presidential action to negotiate a better deal. The Art of the Deal but based on President Obama's and Secretary Kerry's denial of the Keystone XL project!
I'm not kidding. "Leverage" and "climate change [] leadership" were the two reasons Kerry and Obama put forward to deny Keystone XL. In short, important national security goals (like controlling our border) justify Presidential action. Taxing remittances follows that logic. Image
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Read 8 tweets
Nov 1, 2025
Hoo boy. Judge McConnell (once one of Senator Whitehouse's largest donors) issues an impossible to comply with decision. Cheekily voting the President's post asking for guidance on how to spend money he doesn't have, he responds "find the additional funds necessary." Image
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Another poison pill in the order: the money must flow by November 3. But any money found must be allocated under the Administrative Procedure Act. How's that timeline work? Read the full order here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…Image
Read 7 tweets
Sep 3, 2025
*HUGE* "For President Trump, however, the rules are different." Judge Oldham powerfully dissents in tonight's Alien Enemies Act case. 185 pages of opinion to say that President Trump cannot use the Act to deport Tren de Aragua members. Back to the Supreme Court this goes! Image
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Read the full opinion and dissent in the case formerly known as A.A.R.P. here: ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/2…
Interesting paragraph at the top of the Majority's page 38. If TdA was found to be invading or a predatory incursion, and that was "at least in part" directed by Venezuela, then the President's order would be lawful. That's a low bar to assert the authority. Image
Read 5 tweets

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