Judicial Overreach and the Need for Legislative Action: In response to the ruling by Judge Engelmayer, which temporarily blocked DOGE’s access, Republican figures, including Vice President J.D. Vance, have voiced strong opposition, claiming that the judiciary overstepped its bounds by attempting to control the actions of the executive branch. Vance compared the situation to a judge attempting to direct military operations, arguing that judges should not dictate how the President exercises his executive power.
“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 wrote on X.
This view is supported by legal precedents in which the judiciary has been careful not to interfere with the President’s discretion over executive matters, including national security and financial oversight.
