Mike Johnson Warns Rogue Judges: Congress Will DEFUND & DISBAND Federal Courts

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson just issued a warning to the rogue, activist judges trying to undermine President Trump’s mandate: we can and will defund you if you keep overstepping your bounds…

“We do have authority over the federal courts, as you know,” Speaker Johnson told an ABC News reporter today,

“We can eliminate an entire district court. We have powered funding over the courts and all these other things. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and Congress is going to act. So stay tuned for that.”

Watch what he had to say here:

Mike Johnson warns that Congress has the power to eliminate an entire district court and that desperate times call for desperate measures.

Trump has been letting them expose themselves so people will understand when Congress defunds and disbands these corrupt federal courts. pic.twitter.com/qND80ODJtg

— RealAF Patriot (@RealAF_Patriot) March 26, 2025

Speaker Johnson says that Congress can and will defund and shut down federal district courts that are obstructing President Trump.

He says, “Stay tuned for that.” pic.twitter.com/q21eVaMn5n

— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) March 25, 2025

More from NBC News:

Facing pressure from his right flank to take on judges who have ruled against President Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Tuesday floated the possibility of Congress eliminating some federal courts.

It’s the latest attack from Republicans on the federal judiciary, as courts have blocked a series of actions taken by the Trump administration. In addition to funding threats, Trump and his conservative allies have called for the impeachment of certain federal judges who have ruled against him, most notably U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who attempted to halt Trump from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan migrants.

“We do have the authority over the federal courts, as you know. We can eliminate an entire district court. We have power of funding over the courts and all these other things,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “But desperate times call for desperate measures, and Congress is going to act.”

Johnson, a former constitutional attorney, later clarified that he was making a point about Congress’ “broad authority” over the “creation, maintenance and the governance” of the courts. Article III of the Constitution established the Supreme Court but gave Congress the power to “ordain and establish” lower federal courts.

Congress has eliminated courts in the past. In 1913, for example, Congress abolished the Commerce Court and its judges were redistributed to the federal appeals court, according to Congress.gov. And in 1982, Congress passed legislation abolishing the Article III Court of Claims and U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, and established the Article I Court of Federal Claims and the Article III U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The Hill added:

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Tuesday drew attention to Congress’s power over the federal judiciary as Republicans plot how to legislatively channel their outrage over district judges who have blocked Trump administration actions.

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“We do have authority over the federal courts,” Johnson said in a press conference Tuesday. “We can eliminate an entire district court. We do have power over funding over the courts and all these other things. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and Congress is going to act.”

Johnson clarified that he was not calling to eliminate courts, but rather meant to illustrate Congress’s broad scope of authority, Punchbowl News reported.

Article III of the Constitution specifically vests judicial power in the Supreme Court and in “inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.” The structure of the district court system, and how they are funded, are determined by Congress.

The Speaker’s comments come as President Trump has called to impeach at least one district judge, James Boasberg, who issued a nationwide injunction to block his administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan migrants. Several House Republicans have introduced articles of impeachment against Boasberg and other district judges who have blocked Trump administration actions through nationwide injunctions.