CNN ‘black sheep’ Scott Jennings got into a heated argument when host Abby Phillip became furious at his explanation for why Donald Trump should defy judicial rulings.
The issue has become a pet concern of two key figures in Trump’s orbit – ‘First Buddy’ Elon Musk and Vice President JD Vance – in the wake of rulings that have gone against the president.
CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip took on the issue Monday with one of Trump’s biggest liberal media surrogates, Scott Jennings.
Both Jennings and former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu defended Trump’s ability to ignore federal district court rulings he disagrees with.
‘If a district court judge tries to usurp the authority of the chief executive of this country, he should absolutely defy it,’ Jennings argued, adding that only the Supreme Court should decide policy.
Phillip then dug into a specific ruling where a district court judge blocked Trump from placing 2,200 workers at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on paid leave.
She framed USAID budgets as something already appropriated for by Congress and asked: ‘When the court says Congress appropriated this money, you must unfreeze it while we litigate this, why can’t Trump comply with that?’
After the two talked over one another briefly, Phillip shockingly said to Jennings: ‘Let me explain it a little bit more slowly.’
CNN ‘black sheep’ Scott Jennings got into a heated argument when host Abby Phillip became furious at his explanation for why Donald Trump should defy judicial rulings
CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip took on the issue Monday with one of Trump’s biggest liberal media surrogates, Scott Jennings
‘You don’t have to talk to me like that, I have a position on this and you have an opinion, we can disagree,’ explained Jennings.
Phillip was unsatisfied, saying: ‘Yeah, but I’m saying listen to me because you’re not listening, and you’re making claims that are not connected to the facts. The judge is saying-‘
‘Maybe you are,’ shot back Jennings, before the pair finally got to the issue at hand.
‘Congress appropriated a certain amount of money. We need to litigate this. While we litigate this, we’re going to put a hold on the actions that you took that might be unconstitutional,’ said Phillip.
Jennings dismissed Phillips’ argument: ‘So while we litigate this, I’m a judge, and I’m in charge of the executive branch, and you’re not? Forget it. I totally disagree.’
Phillip then tried to weave, asking both Jennings and Chris Sununu if they’d heard of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974.
‘No. And by the way, none of your viewers have, either,’ Sununu said.
The former governor added that the judiciary should not be allowed to force the executive branch into spending.
After the two talked over one another briefly, Phillip shockingly said to Jennings: ‘Let me explain it a little bit more slowly,’ which annoyed Jennings
The issue has become a pet concern of two key figures in Trump’s orbit – ‘First Buddy’ Elon Musk and Vice President JD Vance (pictured) – in the wake of rulings that have gone against the president
Phillip showed a clip of Office of Budget and Management Director Russel Vought saying that the president spending less money that Congress has appropriated is unconstitutional.
She then had legal analyst Elie Honig argue that the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 argues essentially the same thing.
Earlier Monday, reacting to the ruling from District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York the morning before, Vance wrote on X: ‘If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal.
‘If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal,’ he continued, before offering a curt conclusion. ‘Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.’
Musk, meanwhile, categorized Engelmayer’s intervention as ‘a corrupt judge protecting corruption’, 14 years removed from the jurist’s appointment by Barack Obama in 2011.
‘I’d like to propose that the worst 1 percent of appointed judges, as determined by elected bodies, be fired every year,’ he said, after assuming a prominent post in Trump’s administration.
‘This will weed out the most corrupt and least competent.’
‘The Dems are trying to hide possibly the biggest fraud scheme in human history!’ he further claimed, with no evidence.
On X, Vance wrote: ‘If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s… power’
Elon Musk reacted to the ruling as well, as his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continues its assault on Washington seen since the inauguration
Calling for Engelmayer’s impeachment, the billionaire branded the ruling as ‘absolutely insane’
Calling for Engelmayer’s impeachment, the billionaire branded the ruling as ‘absolutely insane.’
‘How on Earth are we supposed to stop fraud and waste of taxpayer money without looking at how money is spent?’ he asked his hordes of followers, before offering his own answer.
‘That’s literally impossible! Something super shady is going to protect scammers.’
Engelmayer, meanwhile, ruled on Friday the Department of Treasury and Trump had been acting unconstitutionally by ‘unlawfully’ granting Musk’s team access to a ‘variety of sensitive personally identifiable information’ through the Bureau of Fiscal Services (BFS).
Shortly before, New York Attorney General Letitia James led a group of 18 other Democratic state AGs in a lawsuit against the Trump administration demanding a ‘stop the unauthorized disclosure of Americans’ private information.’
The filing alleged the DOGE team has been ‘unlawfully’ granted access to a ‘variety of sensitive personally identifiable information’ since Trump’s swearing-in last month.
The order further reminded officials how no one outside of the Treasury department is allowed access to the department’s information, and named Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as another defendant.
He is due in court to combat the claims alongside Trump this Friday, this time under a Joe Biden-appointed judge in Jeannette A. Vargas, who is set to take over the case brough by James.
District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the Southern District of New York granted a restraining order against the US Treasury Department and President Donald Trump on Saturday after 19 states, including New York, who filed the request, requested it
Letitia James, in her complaint that includes 19 states, lamented: ‘President Trump does not have the power to give away Americans’ private information to anyone he chooses, and he cannot cut federal payments approved by Congress’
James, meanwhile, has accepted at least $18,000 from notorious Dem donor George Soros, after enacting nearly 100 legal actions against Trump’s first administration from 2019 to 2021.
The following year, James successfully filed a lawsuit against the then former president in September, accusing him of ‘engaging in years of financial fraud and illegal conduct, according to James’ office.
Last February, she won, when the New York State Supreme Court ruled in her favor.
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg recently scored a victory over Trump as well, after accusing the latter falsifying business records with the intent to commit other crimes during his first presidential campaign.
The case saw Trump convicted but not sentenced in the wake of his landslide election win.
Engelmayer, meanwhile, was once a reporter from the Wall Street Journal, and previously worked as a clerk under Thurgood Marshall, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, from 1988 to 1989.
Marshall was the first African American Supreme Court Justice, and strongly advocated for equal justice, affirmative action and women’s bodily autonomy.
If Trump and his Treasury Secretary do not appear before his replacement, they could be charged with contempt of court.