Trump Just Caved On One of His Biggest Power Grabs

Summary: Donald Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) just gave up on a massive fight with federal judges. The DOJ wanted to keep putting Trump's loyal friends, like Alina Habba, in charge of prosecuting crimes, even though they weren't approved by the Senate. When their temporary time limit ran out, the law says judges get to pick the replacements. The DOJ tried to ignore this rule and fired the judges' picks, causing a huge mess in the courts.

Finally, after a federal judge got very angry and kicked a prosecutor out of his courtroom, the DOJ backed down. They allowed the court's choice, Robert Frazer, to take over as the top prosecutor in New Jersey. This is a big deal because it shows the President can't just ignore the rules and control everything by himself. The separation of powers between the branches of government actually worked.

Source: rssapp-slate-com / Slate URL: slate.com/news-and-politics/2026/03/trump-caves-taco-doj-judiciary-supreme-court.html (opens in new tab)