There are three separate branches of the federal government, and the judiciary does not have a monopoly on interpreting the Constitution.
Even John Marshall’s controversial concept of judicial review only meant that the Supreme Court also has the authority to interpret the Constitution in the cases and controversies that come before it —as a co-equal branch of government —and that the Constitution stands as our "fundamental and paramount law” over all three branches.
Protect States from Liberal Judges
The notion that the other two branches can’t push back on precedent and make a good faith attempt to interpret the Constitution for their own functions is an ignorant misnomer among the political elites. As I noted in my piece on judicial reform, Congress has many tools it can use to fight back against the judiciary. But the executive branch also has the right to use its own interpretation when exercising its proper scope of power. That prerogative rests with the U.S. Attorney General, under the orders of the president.
Therefore, in cases where lower courts force states to infringe upon religious liberty rights of private business owners, or to force schools to place boys in female dressing rooms, Jeff Sessions, as Attorney General, can make it clear that the correct interpretation of the Constitution mandates no such authority to dictate to the states.
Although he can’t overturn a particular case, Sessions can make it clear that the executive branch will not send out the marshals to enforce a flagrantly unconstitutional order of the court.
This is exactly why the Founders vested the judiciary with no enforcement mechanism — because they are not the sole and final arbiter of the Constitution. It is up to Congress to either push back, affirm support, or ignore such a determination by the attorney general.
Clamp Down on Voter Fraud
There is nothing more critical to the rule of law and our democracy than having free and fair elections. Federal judges, acting on lawsuits promoted by President Obama’s DOJ, have been misinterpreting statutes in order to prevent states from cleaning their rolls of dead, fraudulent, and non-citizen voters. Yes, some of the statutes need updating from Congress. But according to J. Christian Adams, president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, Sessions can act on day one to clean up the mess.
Dismantle the Left’s Political-Correctness Enforcement Apparatus
Obama and the progressives in his administrative have used federal agency actions and the courts to attempt to institutionalize their agenda for decades to come. They have butted their noses in where they don’t belong, like when Denver County’s sheriff office was slapped with a fine by the Department of Justice (DOJ) because it refused to hire non-citizens as deputies. In doing so, they have upended the rule of law and assaulted liberty. They also have attempted to legally institutionalize their progressive, politically correct agenda. This is one of many reasons why Trump’s Attorney General was such an important pick for constitutional conservatives.
1. On the first day of his tenure, presumptive Attorney General Sessions should call in all unit heads and have them suspend every onerous lawsuit against states that enforce immigration law, election integrity, or that push back against the transgender agenda —such as North Carolina’s HB2, the "bathroom” bill. He should also suspend the racially-charged lawsuits against local police departments. Sessions must reverse the growing trend of federal involvement in local law enforcement when it is unrelated to federal law.
2. As AG, Sessions can interpret the immigration statutes as properly written to allow states to help enforce immigration law. At the same time, he can cut off law enforcement grants (Byrne JAG, COPS, and SCAAP funds) to localities that designate themselves as sanctuary cities, and that refuse to cooperate with the Secure Communities program that helps identify illegal aliens in local jails and state prisons.
3. Why do we have so much amnesty even though the congressional statutes call for illegal aliens to be deported? The immigration judges within the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EIOR) have granted de facto amnesty by overturning deportations and letting criminal aliens roam free. The administrative judges within the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which serves as the appellate body of EOIR, have the ability to overturn a deportation order from a lower administrative judge and can review all enforcement actions taken by ICE and the border patrol. As Ian Smith of the Immigration Reform Law Institute warned, many of these administrative judges were former lawyers for illegal immigrants, or for organizations funded by George Soros. Given that they all work for the DOJ, Jeff Sessions can clean out the agency of Soros-affiliated immigration judges so that the foxes are no longer guarding the hen house and countermanding the intent of immigration statutes.
4. Deportations have become encumbered in a myriad of civil proceedings. There is definitely a long-term need to tighten up some enforcement statutes. But one low-hanging piece of fruit for the DOJ is to immediately seek expedited deportation for those who have re-entered illegally for a second time. Illegal re-entry is automatically a criminal prosecution, not a civil case. Moreover, many of the re-entrants are criminal aliens, and should be immediately deported anyway.
In summary, for Donald Trump to succeed in making America great again, he and his administration must do more than repeal Obamacare, appoint constitutionalist judges, build the wall, and cut regulation.
Progressives have attempted to destroy the Constitution and our liberty, which are the keys to American exceptionalism.
That is why Trump the builder must recognize that unless he guts and tears down the progressive institutional edifices that have made America weak, the importance of his election will be a fleeting moment in America’s history. And he won’t be able to drain the swamp unless he brings to Washington an army of principled constitutional conservatives to root out decades of institutionalized, progressive rot.
So far, most of Mr. Trump’s appointments to cabinet-level and other positions are "boat-rockers” in the areas over which they will have responsibility. That means they were picked to challenge, or overcome, the institutionalized progressive thinking of the establishment and its gatekeepers.
In the weeks ahead, these appointments will meet stern opposition in the confirmation process. But once in office, they can tackle the larger, more important battles involved in helping to drain the swamp.
Make no mistake, Donald Trump’s election was a devastating signal to the Washington establishment. But the battle that lies ahead will be a long haul.
The words of Winston Churchill come to mind: "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
Conservatives should express their thanks to President-elect Trump by being aggressive in showing their support for him and his team when they are on the right track, critical when they deviate from that path, and by always protecting the backs of the Trump administration boat-rockers as they battle the entrenched, big-government progressive machine in Washington.
Direct-marketing pioneer Richard A. Viguerie has been fighting for conservative causes on the national level for over 55 years. His Manassas, Va.-based firm, American Target Advertising, has mailed over four billion letters in support of conservatives and their most cherished causes. A frequent commentator on Newsmax TV, Mr. Viguerie’s op-eds have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsday, USA Today, the Scripps-Howard newspapers, and many, many others. He is also the author of six books, including Takeover: The 100-year War for the Soul of the GOP and How Conservatives Can Finally Win It. As founder and chairman of ConservativeHQ.com, he continues the fight to advance the conservative cause.
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