No, JD Vance Criticizing a Judge's Decision Is Not a 'Constitutional Crisis'

Vice President JD Vance tweeted negatively about a federal judge's decision over the weekend, criticizing a ruling that is being appealed. Here's how the New York Times described the judicial action in question: "A federal judge early Saturday temporarily restricted access by Elon Musk’s government efficiency program to the Treasury Department’s payment and data systems, saying there was a risk of 'irreparable harm.' The Trump administration’s new policy of allowing political appointees and 'special government employees' access to these systems, which contain highly sensitive information such as bank details, heightens the risk of leaks and of the systems becoming more vulnerable than before to hacking, U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer said in an emergency order." This Obama-appointed jurist "also restricted the Trump administration from granting access to those categories of officials." And here is how Vance reacted on social media:

If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal.

If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that's also illegal.

Judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) February 9, 2025

This triggered a volcanic response from many on the Left, who warned that Vance was precipitating a "crisis" and demonstrating that the Trump administration would not comply with judicial orders. What the Vice President actually did was issue a critique of an adverse decision that the administration is appealing. These are, in fact, quite normal things, despite the performative panic on display. Read this, and decide if you think they might have a point:

Filed last night, the Trump administration answers Judge Engelmayer: https://t.co/g7Q3b7fAPB pic.twitter.com/OwGuVkzxfG
— Byron York (@ByronYork) February 10, 2025

The judge barred political appointees from accessing Treasury payment and data systems. Scott Bessent, the Senate-confirmed Treasury Secretary, is a political appointee and, therefore, apparently covered by this order. The idea that someone in the judicial branch could block him, or people working for him, from carrying out their duties is an extremely dubious assault on the executive branch's legitimate authorities. The Trump administration is right to fight this ruling, and the Vice President is well within his rights to condemn it. That's not a "crisis;" it's how things work. And it's very hard to take the pearl-clutching seriously from the party (very much including most journalists) who cheered on and normalized this sort of thing:

Some of what Biden unilaterally did, even after the Supreme Court ruled against him, has been unraveled -- but his team just kept pushing the envelope, including with the defiant rhetoric seen above. Setting aside the important legality question, the policy itself was nothing more than a terrible, unfair election-minded pander that would inevitably make things worse, for reasons we've reviewed before. Those predictions are being vindicated:

The predictable consequences of Biden’s unilateral student loan forgiveness policies:

1) Burden for the voluntary debt of a bunch of wealthier post-grads shifted to regular taxpayers

2) Those wealthier post-grads took on more unrelated debt as a result.

3) Tuition costs went… pic.twitter.com/3RLv4WrXxV
— AG (@AGHamilton29) February 10, 2025

"Tuition costs went up for future students as schools were reassured that students graduating with worthless degrees would just have their debt covered by someone else. That’s with courts blocking a large portion of the illegal effort to circumvent Congress," that post continued. Progress at work, ladies and gentlemen. Finally, the Times story linked above features an accompanying photograph of anti-DOGE protesters holding up slick, special-interest-funded printed placards, one of which reads 'Nobody Elected Elon!' I find this line of argument, which we've heard from numerous senior Democrats...unpersuasive, particularly coming from them:

“nO oNe ElEcTeD eLoN!!” isn’t a good argument, especially from the pro-federal bureaucrat party/media: pic.twitter.com/lyRnZtyWsP
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) February 10, 2025

Apropos of nothing, I'll leave you with this:

I want to thank the @DOGE team for making me aware of this. Effective yesterday these payments have all been suspended from FEMA. Personnel will be held accountable. @elonmusk https://t.co/UO7HVrLg7M
— Cameron Hamilton (@FEMA_Cam) February 10, 2025