Dear Commons Community,

Chief Justice Roberts responded to rambling remarks from Mr. Trump on Tuesday  in which he complained about a decision from Judge Jon S. Tigar, of the United States District Court in San Francisco, who ordered the administration to resume accepting asylum claims from migrants no matter where or how they entered the United States.  Mr. Trump’s legal analysis of the ruling consisted of the observation that Judge Tigar was “an Obama judge.”  In a clear and direct rebuke, Roberts commented yesterday that “We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges…What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them. That independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.” 

As reported in the New York Times,  Roberts’ statement “may represent a turning point in the relationship between the heads of two branches of the federal government, which until Wednesday had been characterized by slashing attacks from the president and studied restraint from the chief justice.  Chief Justice Roberts, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, made his statement as he is adjusting to a new dynamic on the Supreme Court. The arrival last month of Mr. Trump’s second appointee, Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, thrust the chief justice into the court’s ideological center, a spot that had long belonged to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who retired in July.

That change gives Chief Justice Roberts, 63, extraordinary power and responsibility, and it may have helped spur his unusual statement, issued in response to a request for comment from The Associated Press.

Later in the day Mr. Trump responded to the chief justice’s statement on Twitter. “Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have ‘Obama judges,’” Mr. Trump wrote, “and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country.”

W should all congratulate Roberts for standing up to Trump’s bullying.

Tony

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