Under Attack, Still Standing

Federal judges face threats, insults, and political pressure—but continue to uphold the law.

“…a government of laws and not men.” John Adams

The federal judiciary has become a key target of presidential anger precisely because it remains one of the few institutions still capable of constraining executive misconduct.

There has never been a US chief executive who hates judges and the law the way this one does. Because he has appointed loyalist sycophants to be the US Attorney General and the Director of the FBI, he need not fear indictment for his many ongoing crimes while in office, which was, of course, the point.

A cowardly Republican Party majority in the US Congress has thus far refused to call him out for his in-your-face corruption, perhaps fearing for their lives or political careers. Mr. Trump is nothing if not vengeful.

His dedicated MAGA supporters have demonstrated a penchant for violence. This Oval Office occupant just pardons those who do his illegal bidding, like the 6^th of January insurrectionists.

What about the highest court in the land? The conservative-controlled Supreme Court, made so by this president, has consistently backed this clearly flawed man who has demonstrated he has respect neither for the Constitution nor for his oath of office.

However, beneath the justices sits a host of judges on the federal bench. They have become the last hope for America’s future as a democracy. Despite Trump’s branding these men and women as hacks and worse when they stand up for the law, the federal bench continues to demonstrate considerable courage. A judge ordered him to remove his name from the Kennedy Center. A judge issued an order to cease White House ballroom construction. A judge froze any distribution of money from the $1.776 billion political slush fund controlled by Mr. Trump’s Department of Justice. A judge ordered him to halt his illegal tariffs. A judge declared that his executive order to end the guarantee of birthright citizenship was unconstitutional. A judge ordered the restoration of federal funds to localities. A judge ordered a freeze on illegal ICE-conducted deportations. Per the New York Times, and as of 26 May 2026, Trump’s administration has been sued no less than 650 times, in several cases by multi-state attorneys general. While this chief executive engages in lawlessness at every opportunity, he is stopped, albeit sporadically, by a judiciary that insists on upholding the laws of our land.

The struggle continues. Mr. Trump’s Department of Homeland Security was recently called out by Democrats in Congress for ignoring multiple court orders. Having lived and worked in seventeen different countries, some of which were debauched in similar fashion, I have learned that when a national leader is corrupt, he immediately corrupts the institutions that are supposed to guarantee integrity in government. Essentially, evil let loose in government at the top has no tolerance for honest civil servants. Remember, his “Secretary of War’s” first job was to fire the most senior lawyers in the Pentagon, the Judge Advocate Generals.

The president also appears to be at war with international law, imposing sanctions on the judges and chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Mr. Trump’s unwavering backing of the State of Israel that has been found to be engaging in crimes against humanity in Gaza is telling. Morality and ethics do not matter to this man.

Thomas Paine’s famous quote is trenchant: “In America, the law is king.” Given the fact that a compromised Supreme Court and fainthearted Republican dominated Congress have been craven in both word and deed, our intrepid judges on the federal bench continue to take on the responsibility to “support and defend the Constitution.”

I, for one, am grateful for their fortitude.

Robert Bruce Adolph , a qualified Military Strategist, is a retired senior US Army Special Forces soldier. He holds graduate degrees in both National Security Studies & International Affairs and was formally trained as a counterintelligence special agent. Robert also taught university level courses in American Government, US History, and World Politics. Following his retirement from the active military, he joined the UN, subsequently seeing service in Sierra Leone, Yemen, Iraq, Egypt, Israel/Palestine, Indonesia and more, culminating in the role of Chief of the Middle East and North Africa at UN Headquarters in New York. He is the author of “Surviving the United Nations,” now out in a second edition. He is a member of The Steady State.

Founded in 2016, The Steady State is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization of more than 400 former senior national security professionals. Our membership includes former officials from the CIA, FBI, Department of State, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security. Drawing on deep expertise across national security disciplines, including intelligence, diplomacy, military affairs, and law, we advocate for constitutional democracy, the rule of law, and the preservation of America’s national security institutions.

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