Trump’s Own Judges Turn on Him in Blizzard of Blistering Rulings

Multiple federal judges appointed to the bench by Donald Trump have been unable to hide their disdain for the administration’s attacks on the judiciary and the legal system itself.

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An analysis by CNN found 77 rulings in which federal judges, including 11 selected by Trump during his two terms, launched blistering attacks on the president and his administration over a range of issues since January 2025.

In one particularly scathing ruling, a federal judge appointed by Trump in Florida ordered ICE to immediately release immigrant Dmitrii Iastrebov while blasting the government’s “complete inability to follow judicial directions” in the case.

“A federal court is not a testing lab where the Executive Branch can pilot a concession to get a case closed, stand by silently while its own administrative process flouts the resulting mandate, and then stroll back in demanding a clean slate,” Judge Dudek wrote. “Give me a break.”

Trump’s efforts to carry out mass deportations have drawn the sharpest rebukes from judges appointed by presidents of both parties.

Of the 77 critical rulings analyzed by CNN, 35 relate to deportations, migrant rights, birthright citizenship, and challenges to the administration’s attempts to detain migrants without an opportunity to seek bond through the courts.

The analysis also identified 64 instances in which judges accused the Trump administration of abusing its power by attempting to exceed legal limits on executive authority.

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“The Constitution does not permit immigration detention to be used as a punitive or suppressive tool against protected speech,” Judge Jerry W. Blackwell, a Joe Biden appointee in Minnesota, wrote in a May 2025 ruling.

Blackwell said the Trump administration failed to prove it had not targeted Bangladeshi Minnesota student Mohammed Hoque in an immigration raid as retaliation for speaking publicly about Gaza, and ordered his release from detention.

“What we’ve seen over the last 16 months is far above and beyond what we’ve seen before,” Steve Vladeck, a CNN Supreme Court analyst and law professor at Georgetown University Law Center, told CNN.

Vladeck added that the frequency with which judges have had to lambast the administration during Trump’s second term is concerning.

“You can find one-off examples of bad behavior … but here it’s systemic,” Vladeck said.

In response, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told the Daily Beast: “Per usual, CNN is focused entirely on the wrong thing. The real problem is the unrelenting, unlawful rulings issued by some lower court judges who push their own policy goals and are clearly triggered by President Trump’s agenda.