Quick Hit:

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that Congress has the power to dismantle federal courts beneath the Supreme Court—and should use it to rein in judges obstructing Trump’s agenda.

Key Details:

• DeSantis posted on X that “Congress has the authority to establish—and to abolish—courts at the district and appellate level,” noting that only the Supreme Court is constitutionally required.

• Speaking at New College earlier this year, DeSantis pointed to Thomas Jefferson as precedent, saying Jefferson-era leaders simply eliminated judgeships they disagreed with.

• His remarks followed criticism of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who has blocked the deportation of alleged Tren de Aragua gang members—a decision DeSantis described as judicial sabotage of Trump’s immigration agenda.

Diving Deeper:

In a Wednesday post on X, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis asserted that “the only constitutionally-required court is the Supreme Court,” adding that “Congress has the authority to establish—and to abolish—courts at the district and appellate level.” DeSantis said that if lawmakers wanted to eliminate the federal district court in Washington, D.C., for example, they could do so.

The post is part of a broader push DeSantis has been making since at least March, when he criticized federal judges who rule against the Trump administration’s immigration policies. According to a report from Florida Politics, DeSantis has specifically targeted U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, who ruled a deportation flight involving alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua was illegal—even after the Trump administration said the flight was already in the air.

“Congress has the authority to strip jurisdiction of the federal courts to decide these cases in the first place,” DeSantis said at the time. “The sabotaging of President Trump’s agenda by ‘resistance’ judges was predictable—why no jurisdiction-stripping bills teed up at the onset of this Congress?”

At a New College event, DeSantis drew from history, saying that Jefferson, when confronted with uncooperative judges, “just eliminated these judgeships.” He emphasized that apart from the Supreme Court, the federal court system is a creation of Congress and can be modified—or dismantled—at its discretion.

The Florida governor’s hardline stance aligns with his broader record of punishing state officials he sees as obstructing the law, including suspending State Attorneys who refuse to prosecute certain crimes under state guidance.

While Trump has called for Judge Boasberg to be impeached, DeSantis’s approach goes further—advocating for Congress to use its constitutional authority to eliminate entire courts or block them from hearing specific types of cases.