If Trump Defies the Courts, Here’s What a Judge Can Do – Politico

Q&A | Rules of Law

A former federal judge weighs in on the escalating tension between the White House and the judiciary.

Amid the growing battle between President Donald Trump and the courts, a once-unthinkable question is harder to shrug off: Will the administration deliberately defy federal judges if it doesn’t get what it wants?

The issue has come into sharp relief in the challenge to the administration’s deportation of Venezuelan nationals under the purported authority of the Alien Enemies Act. The presiding judge — James Boasberg, chief judge of the federal district court in Washington, D.C. — directed the government from the bench to turn the planes around carrying the deportees. That did not happen, though the administration claims it did not deliberately defy the judge. Boasberg has since pressed the government for more information, and on Friday, he will hold a hearing to consider the matter further.

Source Links: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/03/20/trump-defy-courts-judge-interview-00239359