XPost: alt.politics.democrats, sac.politics, alt.society.liberalism
XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
Congressional Democrats introduced a bill Thursday that would shift
control of the U.S. Marshals Service from the executive branch to the
federal judiciary, in an effort to insulate the agency from political interference and guarantee that judges receive strong security
protections.
The move comes as President Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and other
top government officials this year rain down criticism on judges that
are ruling against the administration in scores of court challenges. The Marshals protect judges, but they also report to the U.S. attorney
general, not to the courts themselves.
Those critiques gave rise to fears that the Marshals could be caught in
the middle of a power struggle if the White House or Justice Department
direct them to ignore a court order or to yank security from judges, the Democrats said.
Judges have faced violent threats and calls for impeachment because of
their work.
"Today, independent judges must rely on the executive branch, whose
cases are often in front of them, for personal security," said Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., in a written statement. "I have seen how threats of violence to members of Congress pressure them into staying silent or
influence their votes on the House floor. We cannot allow the same
calculations to creep into the deliberations of independent judges."
The legislation would move the Marshals out of the control of the
Justice Department and create a special board whose members include the
Chief Justice of the United States and the Judicial Conference, the
courts' policymaking body. It's modeled on the structure for running the
U.S. Capitol Police.
The bill, known as the Maintaining Authority and Restoring Security to
Halt the Abuse of Law Act, is sponsored by Democratic Reps. Swalwell;
Jamie Raskin of Maryland; and Hank Johnson of Georgia. A companion bill
in the Senate is led by Cory Booker of New Jersey; Chuck Schumer of New
York; Alex Padilla of California; and Adam Schiff of California.
The legislation may not get through a Congress controlled by Republicans
but is meant to send a signal about Democrats' concern about the issue
of judicial security.
A spokesman for the Marshals declined comment, citing the pending
legislation.
Threats against judges are not a hypothetical issue. The son of U.S.
District Judge Esther Salas of New Jersey was fatally shot in their home
by a frustrated litigant who had appeared in her courtroom.
This year, judges and their family members have been receiving hundreds
of unsolicited pizza deliveries in seven different U.S. states, in an
apparent effort to intimidate the judges and signal that their home
addresses are known, lawmakers said. Some of the deliveries have been
placed in the name of Salas's deceased son, Daniel Anderl.
"Since 1789, the U.S. Marshals have valiantly protected our nation's
judges and enforced court orders," Sen. Booker said. "But their dual accountability to the executive branch and the judicial branch paves the
way toward a constitutional crisis."
Alex Aronson, a former congressional aide who now serves as executive
director of the group Court Accountability, said the bill is a "critical bolster for checks and balances."
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/22/g-s1-68433/judges-security-marshals-democr
ats
Activist judges have overstepped their authority. Pay the pipers
who come knocking.
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