Judges issuing bans on Trump's executive orders have history of activism

Multiple judges have banned the legal executive orders of President Donald Trump. The question now is, were the rulings made on appropriate legal grounds, or were the judges simply biased?

The judges, U.S. District Judge George O’Toole and Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly are both reported to be activists.

The blocks cover a wide range of topics; from attempting to stop Trump’s employee buyout program to stopping the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from obtaining records from the Treasury Department.

One of the judges, O’Toole, has temporarily blocked Trump’s federal employee buyout program after various unions complained Trump’s order “violates federal law.”

The Federalist recently discussed O’Toole’s decision with former federal prosecutor and current criminal defense attorney Andrew Cherkasky.

Cherkasky told the news outlet that “historically, buyout programs have been a standard tool for managing federal workforce reductions efficiently and voluntarily … There is no constitutional or statutory prohibition against modifying the terms under which employees receive buyouts.”

“The judge blocking this EO is likely doing so on speculative grounds — perhaps arguing that it conflicts with statutory provisions — but executive authority over the federal workforce has long been upheld, particularly when aligned with cost-saving and efficiency rationales,” Cherkasky went on.

It isn’t the only order of Trump’s O’Toole has recently blocked.

O’Toole also blocked Trump’s decision to send a transgender woman to a men’s prison following Trump’s executive order recognizing two sexes -- male and female. Maria Moe, a biological male, had been residing in a woman's prison during Joe Biden's presidency.

However, O’Toole has now issued a temporary restraining order preventing Maria Moe from being transferred to a men’s prison.

O’Toole is not alone in his decision to block multiple executive orders from the president.

The other judge blocking Trump’s orders, Kollar-Kotelly, recently stopped DOGE from accessing Treasury Department records.

Kollar-Kotelly ruled that the Treasury “will not provide access to any payment record or payment system of records maintained within the [Treasury] Bureau of Fiscal Service.”

Both judges have been fighting so hard to stop Trump's executive orders that one has to wonder how much of this is based on legitimate legal precedent as opposed to the judges' own personal bias.