Judge accuses Trump administration of trying to undermine judiciary – National Public Radio (NPR)

Law, March 27, 20255:49 PM ET, By Ryan Lucas

A federal judge on Thursday rejected the Justice Department’s bid to remove her from a case challenging one of President Trump’s executive orders, accusing the department of attacking her as part of broader campaign to try to undermine the judicial system.

The order from U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, nominated to serve on the federal bench during the Obama administration, denies the department’s effort to disqualify her from the lawsuit over Trump’s order punishing the prominent law firm Perkins Coie. Earlier this month, Howell said the order likely violated the constitution and temporarily blocked enforcement of it.

The Justice Department responded by accusing Howell, a judge at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, of repeatedly demonstrating “animus” toward Trump, and filed a motion seeking to disqualify her.

Howell’s order is a notable instance of a federal judge vocally pushing back against attempts to discredit the federal judiciary, and comes as judges who have ruled against the Trump administration this year are confronting a wave of threats.

Source Links: https://www.npr.org/2025/03/27/g-s1-56739/judge-trump-howell-judiciary