A legal group with ties to former President Trump has filed a bold lawsuit against Chief Justice John Roberts, aiming to limit the power of the federal judiciary. The group behind the suit is America First Legal, founded by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, and they’re challenging what they see as the courts stepping too far into executive territory.
According to Fox News, the lawsuit names Chief Justice Roberts in his role as head of the U.S. Judicial Conference, along with Robert J. Conrad, who leads the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The America First Legal team argues that both offices have taken regulatory steps that go beyond their constitutional roles—saying they’re doing more than just managing court business and issuing legal decisions.
One key part of the case involves a push for more transparency. The group wants records from the Judicial Conference to be open to public requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), especially in light of past efforts to regulate Supreme Court ethics.
America First Legal pointed to actions taken in 2023 by the Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office. These steps, which included responding to questions from Congress about ethics concerns surrounding Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, are now being cited as examples of the judiciary acting like an executive branch agency.
Their legal argument boils down to this: when the courts take on duties like drafting ethics codes or handling congressional pressure, they’re stepping outside the bounds of their intended judicial role. Therefore, the plaintiffs say, these duties should be managed by executive officials, who are answerable to the president.
For context, the U.S. Judicial Conference is the main policymaking body for the federal courts, led by the Chief Justice. It typically helps shape recommendations to Congress on court matters. Meanwhile, the Administrative Office handles practical aspects like budgets, logistics, and data management across the court system.
Will Scolinos, the attorney representing America First Legal in the case, claims these duties are more executive in nature and should fall under executive branch oversight.
In a related legal victory for Trump supporters, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 on Tuesday to allow the Trump-era ban on transgender military service members to take effect. Though the court didn’t weigh in on the broader issues behind the policy, the decision was still celebrated as a win by conservatives.
Solicitor General John Sauer argued in his court filing that federal judges shouldn’t interfere with military policy—saying such overreach disrupts the balance of powers between branches of government.
President Trump celebrated the decision on his Truth Social platform, posting a news article about the ruling.
In line with the policy shift, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth released a memo in February stating that service members diagnosed with gender dysphoria would no longer be allowed to serve, unless they hadn’t started transitioning and agreed to serve according to their birth sex.