[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 188 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 188
Affirming the obligation of the President of the United States to
comply with court orders.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 4, 2025
Mr. Mullin (for himself, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Ms.
Norton, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Tlaib,
Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Thanedar, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Grijalva, Mr.
Soto, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Swalwell, Mrs. Torres of California, Mr.
Khanna, Ms. McCollum, Mrs. McIver, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, and Mr. Green
of Texas) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Affirming the obligation of the President of the United States to
comply with court orders.
Whereas the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
on January 23, 2025, the United States District Court for the District
of Maryland on February 5, 2025, and the United States District Court
for the District of New Hampshire on February 10, 2025, issued temporary
restraining orders to prevent President of the United States Donald J.
Trump from enforcing or implementing his executive order that would deny
citizenship to individuals born in the United States;
Whereas the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on February 20,
2025, denied an emergency request to lift an injunction on President
Trump's executive order that would deny citizenship to individuals born
in the United States;
Whereas the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on January
28, 2025, and the United States District Court for the District of Rhode
Island on January 31, 2025, and again on February 10, 2025, issued
temporary restraining orders to prevent the Trump administration from
pausing, freezing, or terminating Federal funds appropriated by
Congress;
Whereas the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
issued a temporary order on February 8, 2025, preventing President Trump
from granting access to Treasury Department payment records and systems
to any individual other than civil servants with a need for access to
perform their job duties;
Whereas the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on
February 25, 2025, entered a preliminary injunction preventing the
Office of Management and Budget from implementing, giving effect to, or
reinstating a memorandum freezing all federal financial assistance under
open awards;
Whereas the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
on February 21, 2025, granted a preliminary injunction barring the
Treasury Department from granting any member of the DOGE team access to
payment records, payment systems, or any other data systems maintained
by the Treasury Department;
Whereas the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
on February 27, 2025, issued a temporary restraining order requiring the
Office of Personnel and Management to rescind a directive to terminate
employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Park
Service, the Small Business Administration, the Bureau of Land
Management, the Department of Defense, and the Fish and Wildlife
Service;
Whereas, on February 9, 2025, Vice President of the United States J.D. Vance
declared on X: ``Judges aren't allowed to control the executive's
legitimate power'';
Whereas, on February 15, 2025, President Trump declared on X: ``He who saves his
Country does not violate any Law'';
Whereas it has been established since 1803 in Marbury v. Madison that it is
``the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law
is'', and it has been further established since 1952 in Youngstown Sheet
& Tube Co. v. Sawyer that the President's power ``must stem either from
an Act of Congress or from the Constitution'';
Whereas the United States Constitution, and hundreds of years of common law
tradition, require all persons to comply with orders issued by duly
established courts of jurisdiction;
Whereas the legal process allows for the opportunity to appeal a decision with
which a litigant disagrees;
Whereas the duty to abide by a court order applies equally to all persons of the
United States, including but not limited to government lawyers, all of
whom must practice law in accordance with federal and state law;
Whereas those who defy a court order must be held accountable by our legal
system; and
Whereas failing to comply with court orders puts the rule of law and the
separation of powers established by the Constitution in grave jeopardy:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) affirms the essential role of the judiciary in
upholding checks and balances among the three coequal branches
of the United States Government;
(2) calls on President Donald J. Trump and his
administration to immediately comply with all existing court
orders and decisions going forward; and
(3) affirms the judiciary's authority to use all of the
tools given to it by the Constitution and Congress to enforce
its orders.
<all>