Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said Tuesday the United States is a “nation of laws” and the President Trump and his administration needs to comply with federal court orders halting his executive actions, such as a ruling ordering the administration to unfreeze billions of dollars in federal grants.
“The White House should comply with court rulings, the Congress should comply,” Murkowski told reporters at the Capitol.
“We have a judicial system. If you don’t like the ruling, you can appeal the ruling and you can follow that through. But we are a nation of laws and it is not necessarily for you or I to be the final arbiter here. This is why we entrust the judiciary with this responsibility,” she said.
Murkowski made her comments when asked whether the White House needs to comply with federal court decisions, something that Vice President JD Vance questioned over the weekend.
“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,” Vance posted on the social media site X on Sunday.
A federal judge ruled on Monday that Trump failed to comply with a court order to unfreeze billions of dollars in federal grants.
Judge John McConnell Jr. of Rhode Island ordered Trump and members of his administration to immediately end any federal funding pause during a temporary restraining order on his executive order freezing federal grants and loans.
