Senate Minority Leader and Democrat New York Sen. Charles Schumer had an unhinged meltdown after the Supreme Court ruled to limit the power of district court judges on issuing nationwide injunctions.
“The Supreme Court’s decision to limit courts of their long-held authority to block illegal executive actions is an unprecedented and terrifying step toward authoritarianism, a grave danger to our democracy, and a predictable move from this extremist MAGA court,” he said in a post on X.
“By weakening the power of district courts to check the presidency, the Court is not defending the Constitution—it’s defacing it,” the senator said.
“This ruling hands Donald Trump yet another green light in his crusade to unravel the foundations of American democracy,” Schumer said.
“His plan to end birthright citizenship is blatantly unconstitutional, but instead of stopping it in its tracks, the Court has instead ducked the question and bowed to an out-of-control Executive Branch,” he said.
But here is the rub.
Just hours before that post, the Senate minority leader, who was once ridiculed for pretending to barbecue on a cold grill, praised the very same Supreme Court that he called an “extremist MAGA court” hours later.
“The Supreme Court’s decision today upholds the Affordable Care Act’s promise—that access to basic care should never depend on your income, your employer, or your ZIP code,” the senator said.
“From cancer screenings to essential HIV prevention medication, investing in no-cost preventive care reduces long-term costs and saves lives,” Schumer said.
“Senate Democrats will keep fighting to strengthen and expand health care protections for American families,” he said.
Same senator, same platform, same court, hours apart.
But his hypocrisy goes further as, one day before those two posts, he was, again, an enemy of the court.
“The Supreme Court’s latest decision endangers women’s health care even further,” the senator said. “For many, Planned Parenthood is their only option for affordable health care.”
“Access to health care is a basic right—no matter what the MAGA court thinks. @SenateDems will keep fighting,” he said.
President Donald Trump scored a big win in the Birthright Citizenship Case on Friday. Not on the merits, but on whether a universal injunction is permitted. This is hugely significant in every case with universal injunctions.
Senior Legal Correspondent Margot Cleveland explained what this means: “US Supreme Court allows Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship to go into effect in some areas of the country for now by curtailing federal judges’ ability to block the president’s policies nationwide.”
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case in May after three lower federal courts issued nationwide injunctions against the order’s implementation.
In an executive order signed on Inauguration Day, Trump declared that the 14th Amendment provision granting U.S. citizenship to children born on American soil applies only to those with at least one parent who is a citizen or permanent resident.
If it were to be implemented, Trump’s policy would deny citizenship at birth to an estimated 255,000 babies born annually in the U.S. to illegal immigrants or temporary visa holders, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
Under the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” For over a century, this text has been interpreted to grant citizenship at birth to all individuals except for children of foreign diplomats, the WSJ reported.
But proponents of Trump’s order argued that the historical context of the amendment was to grant citizenship to the children of former slaves and that the provision has since been abused by illegal migrants who exploit it to gain a foothold in the U.S. by having a child on American soil.
