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Federal judge appointed by Trump quits group over statement on threats

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Federal judge appointed by Trump quits group over statement on threats

A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump in 2018 announced that he had resigned from the largest association of federal judges, decrying how the group issued a rare statement last week condemning recent alleged threats against judges but stayed quiet for years while conservative members of the judiciary faced scrutiny and attack. 

Judge James C. Ho, of the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, announced his departure from the Federal Judges Association during a speaking event Saturday hosted by the conservative Federalist Society at the University of Michigan Law School. It comes in response to the 1,100-member group issuing a statement on March 5 saying in part that “judges must be permitted to do their jobs without fear of violence or intimidation of any kind.” Trump and his allies have grown increasingly critical of judges who have blocked the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and other aspects of the administration’s agenda, while DOGE leader Elon Musk last month called for an “immediate wave of judicial impeachments.” 

“I was very surprised by that statement. And the next morning, I sent an email to the organization saying that I wanted to resign,” Ho said of the Federal Judges Association. “I researched for myself, and I also asked the association if they ever issued any such statements when Justice Thomas received attacks, or Justice Alito. Justice Kavanaugh dealt with an assassination attempt. We’ve had federal district judges in Texas and in Florida – as well as, I’m sure, other states, but those are the ones that come to mind immediately – all faced the kinds of things that that statement was complaining about and more. Did we see these statements in 2024 or 2023 or 2022? From what I can tell, no.” 

WHO IS JUDGE AMIR ALI? THE BIDEN-APPOINTED FEDERAL JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S USAID BATTLE

James Ho, nominee to be a judge for the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, testifies during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Nov. 15, 2017. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

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“You can’t say that you’re in favor of judicial independence only when it comes to decisions that you like. That’s not protecting the judiciary, that’s politicizing the judiciary,” Ho said, arguing that such statements actually harm the cause they try to further. “Because one of two things turns out to be true when you’re selective in this way. And either of these options, I think, is a bad thing. Option number one is that you’re basically lying, that you actually don’t care about this principle because you didn’t stand up for it when the shoe was on the other foot, and so you’re telling the world essentially we’re not seriously committed to judicial independence.” 

“The alternative is perhaps even worse, which is that you are telling the truth – you do care about this, this principle, whether it’s judicial independence or free speech. I think this concept applies to a lot of things,” Ho continued. “If you’re telling the truth, you really care about this principle, but there are just some people who have views that are so anathema to you that you don’t think they are worthy of this principle that you expound on.” 

Ho at 2022 Federalist Society event

James Ho, a Taiwanese-born American lawyer and jurist serving as a U.S. circuit judge, speaks at the Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention on Nov. 10, 2022. (The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“And so what you may think is a statement born of righteousness I think is perceived by a lot of people as merely sanctimonious,” he concluded. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Federal Judges Association for comment, but they did not immediately respond.

JUDGE RULES DOGE LIKELY SUBJECT TO PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS, SAYS DEPARTMENT OPERATING IN ‘UNUSUAL SECRECY’

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The president of the Federal Judges Association, U.S. Circuit Judge J. Michelle Childs, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, wrote in an email to members last week that the “judiciary faces growing threats, including violence, intimidation, disinformation, and unprecedented impeachments that challenge its independence,” according to Reuters. 

The Federal Judges Association then released a lengthier public statement the next day that did not elaborate on specific threats against specific judges. 

Judge Childs testifies before Congress

J. Michelle Childs testifies during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on April 27, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

It began by saying that “recent events are a clear and urgent reminder that federal judges play a crucial role in upholding our democracy as guardians of the rule of law.” 

“In the history of our Republic, there has always been tension between the three separate and equal branches of the federal government, including criticism of judicial interpretations. The FJA strives to ensure that accurate information is shared with all American citizens regarding the role of the judiciary as defined in the U.S. Constitution: to impartially interpret the laws that have been created by the U.S. Congress and enforced by the Executive branch,” the group said. “Specific decisions issued by judges are not formed from individual opinions, but rather are prepared against evaluation of what the ‘laws on the books’ require.” 

The group commended those, including Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, “who have commented recently on the rise in criticism, threats and violence aimed at members of the judiciary.”

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“Irresponsible rhetoric shrouded in disinformation undermines the public’s confidence that our justice system can fulfill its constitutional duties,” the statement said. “The security of federal judges and all those serving in the judicial branch of our government is fundamental to their ability to uphold the rule of law, and to fulfill their constitutional duty without fear or undue influence. Any erosion in the independence of the judiciary is a threat to our Constitution and to democratic rule of law. Ensuring judicial security is not just about protecting individuals, it is about preserving the integrity of our legal system and the public’s trust in an impartial judiciary.” 

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Trump Says He Will Call Putin to Discuss Ending Ukraine War

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Trump Says He Will Call Putin to Discuss Ending Ukraine War

President Trump said he would speak with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Tuesday, as he continued to express optimism that Russia would agree to a proposal to halt fighting in Ukraine for 30 days.

“We want to see if we can bring that war to an end,” Mr. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday evening. “Maybe we can. Maybe we can’t, but I think we have a very good chance.”

Mr. Trump said that progress on negotiations had been made over the weekend, and there have been ongoing discussions about “dividing up certain assets,” specifically mentioning concessions over land and power plants.

“I think we’ll be talking about land, it’s a lot of land. It’s a lot different than it was before the war, as you know,” Mr. Trump said.

He added: “We’ll be talking about power plants. That’s a big question. But I think we have a lot of it already discussed very much by both sides — Ukraine and Russia.”

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Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East who has been involved in the peace talks, said Sunday on CNN that he had a positive meeting with Mr. Putin last week that lasted three to four hours. He declined to share the specifics of their conversation, but he said the two sides had “narrowed the differences between them.”

Ukraine has already agreed to support the U.S.-backed cease-fire, and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has accused Mr. Putin of purposely delaying negotiations while trying to trap Ukrainian forces to improve his position in the cease-fire talks.

Mr. Putin had demanded on Friday that Ukraine’s troops in the Kursk region of Russia surrender. But by the weekend, after fierce fighting, the Ukrainians had withdrawn from most of the region, leaving them controlling a sliver of land in Russia.

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Minnesota Republicans to introduce bill defining 'Trump derangement syndrome' as mental illness

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Minnesota Republicans to introduce bill defining 'Trump derangement syndrome' as mental illness

A group of Minnesota Republican lawmakers plan to propose legislation requiring the state to include “Trump derangement syndrome” under its definition of mental illness.

Five GOP lawmakers are set to introduce the bill in the state’s Senate on Monday and refer it to the Health and Human Services committee, according to Fox 9. The bill aims to specifically add “Trump derangement syndrome” to the state’s definition of mental illness.

“Trump derangement syndrome” is defined as “acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal persons that is in reaction to the policies and presidencies of President Donald J. Trump,” according to the bill.

BILL MAHER SAYS TRUMP DOESN’T HAVE A LEG TO STAND ON REGARDING FREE SPEECH AFTER MAHMOUND KHALIL ARREST

A group of Minnesota Republican senators plan to propose a bill to define “Trump derangement syndrome” as a mental illness. (Carl Court – Pool/Getty Images)

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“Symptoms may include Trump-induced general hysteria, which produces an inability to distinguish between legitimate policy differences and signs of psychic pathology in President Donald J. Trump’s behavior,” the proposal reads.

With a split state legislature, the bill is unlikely to be approved.

Mental illness is defined as a disorder or other issue that is included in a diagnostic codes list. “Trump derangement syndrome” is not recognized as a mental illness anywhere.

Trump signs executive order

The bill is unlikely to be approved in a split legislature. (AP/Ben Curtis)

President Donald Trump and his supporters have used the term “Trump derangement syndrome” to criticize political opponents who they believe have a biased obsession against the president and his policies.

While the “derangement syndrome” as a political phrase has been made popular in recent years to mock critics of Trump, the term was actually coined in 2003 by the late political commentator Charles Krauthammer to describe critics of then-President George W. Bush.

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DEMOCRATS LASH OUT AT SCHUMER FOR ‘BETRAYAL’ OF SIDING WITH TRUMP

Minnesota state capitol building

The bill defines “Trump derangement syndrome” as “acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal persons that is in reaction to the policies and presidencies of President Donald J. Trump.” (Getty Images)

The Minnesota proposal features the same phrasing Krauthammer used to describe “Bush derangement syndrome,” which was defined as “the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency—nay—the very existence of George W. Bush.”

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Trump and recent gains give the California Republican Party hope

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Trump and recent gains give the California Republican Party hope

A caravan of pickup trucks waving large President Trump flags circled the California Republican Party’s convention this weekend, with drivers occasionally hopping out to dance to the Village People song “Y.M.C.A.,” a favorite tune at the president’s rallies.

Inside, delegates posed with giant cutouts of Trump, wore glittery gold-sequined jackets emblazoned with “Trump the Golden Era” and snapped up “MAGA” rhinestone jewelry.

Republicans attend the CAGOP spring organizing convention at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento on Sunday.

(Lezlie Sterling/TNS)

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Once dominated by Reagan-era Republicans who favored traditional conservative policies including opposing the Russia-led Soviet Union and favoring free trade, the California GOP is being reshaped by Trump’s populism.

“Just like Reagan was transformational figure in the political world, Donald Trump is a transformational figure,” said former state GOP chairman Jim Brulte.

For a party that has long been largely irrelevant in California politics — having last elected a statewide candidate nearly two decades ago — there were some bright spots in the November election. Republicans increased their representation in both houses of the state Legislature, the first time the GOP has done so in a presidential election year since 1980.

Though Trump lost the state by 20 points to former Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee and Californian, the Republican received more votes in November here than he did in the last two presidential elections.

Trump also did better with Latinos across the nation, winning 43% of their votes, according to the Associated Press. In California, Republicans increased their support from this voting bloc as well, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report as well as GOP officials.

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“Here’s the secret sauce. You ready for it?” Rep. Tony Gonzalez (R-Texas) told California Republicans at the party’s Saturday luncheon. “You have to show up. Step one, show up. Show up early. Show up often. Don’t speak a little bit of broken Spanish. Don’t throw up an ad and then call it good two weeks at the tail end of election.”

Gonzalez, whose district has the most border miles of any congressional district in the nation, said Latino voters care about the same issues as most voters — the economy, safety and the education of their children.

“Be genuine,” he added. “You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to tell them what you think they want to hear.”

Assemblywoman Leticia Castillo, a Republican elected in November to represent a Democratic district with that includes swaths of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, said in addition to constant door-knocking, she reached out to Latinos in unconventional ways. She advertised about her parents’ immigrant roots and her priorities in popular local Spanish-language magazines that focus on soccer and quinceañeras.

“We’re talking about values, and we’re talking about what your beliefs are. And it was not that difficult to get people on board. They want the message, but they don’t know there’s a message that they need until you bring it to them,” she said.

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State GOP leaders said such legislative gains were prompted by structural changes, including registering 1 million additional Republican voters over the last six years and focusing on early voting, ballot harvesting and other election day tactics long embraced by Democrats. The party also launched a concerted effort to appeal to Latino voters more consistently and aggressively than prior decades.

“I don’t think it happened overnight,” state Republican Party chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson, whose tenure just ended, told reporters Saturday.

Describing Latinos as a community that had been previously “neglected” by the party, she added: “In 2019 we started going to farms and talking to farm workers, and we were talking about the things that were important to my community, and that was making sure you have a good job. It was making sure your kids got a great education so they could have a better life than you. It was making sure that you had safe streets.”

Though she argued that Democrats had failed on such issues, she acknowledged that they had long been a presence in Latino communities. “Democrats showed up, and Democrats made them feel like they cared about their problems,” Millan Patterson said.

Trump also did better among Latino and Black voters than other recent Republican presidential nominees, so it’s unclear whether California Republicans’ improved performance is part of a fundamental realignment of the base of the political parties or whether it’s specific to Trump and evaporates once he leaves office.

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Getting Trump voters to turn out in elections when he is not on the ballot can be challenging, Millan Patterson added. That became evident during the failed recall election against Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, she said. Over a million more Californians voted for Trump in the 2020 presidential election than voted to recall Newsom in 2021.

Trump’s influence, and imprint, on the current California Republican Party was clear throughout the three-day convention in Sacramento.

Panels at the Hyatt Regency and the convention center in Sacramento focused on issues such as “lawfare,” a practice Trump supporters argue weaponized the legal system against him and his goals. Republicans also touted a potential 2026 California ballot measure to require voter ID and proof of citizenship for anyone casting ballots, which Trump demanded the state adopt in exchange for federal disaster relief in the aftermath of the deadly Los Angeles-area wildfires this year.

The most prominent speaker was Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer who has railed against transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, a focus during Trump’s second election campaign.

“I do believe the issue of allowing men into women’s sports, it was the sleeper issue of the election,” she told the Republican crowd. “I believe, of course, that people turned up to the polls to embrace Donald Trump, to embrace the America first agenda … but more so, I believe that people turned up to the polls to reject absurdity, and that is what the Democratic Party has become.”

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Republicans Robin Ellis, left, Sharie Abajian, center, and Barbara Moore take selfies.

Republicans Robin Ellis, left, Sharie Abajian, center, and Barbara Moore take selfies at the CAGOP spring convention in Sacramento on Sunday.

(Lezlie Sterling/TNS)

The shifting voting dynamics in the state could have ramifications in next year’s midterm elections, where Californians are expected to play a major role in deciding which party wins control of the House.

The midterm elections are likely to be rocky for Republicans because the party that wins the White House frequently takes a beating in congressional elections two years later. And in 2024, congressional races were a weak point for the GOP even as the party was victorious in House races across much of the country.

Millan Patterson said the loss of three Republican congressional incumbents in 2024 was prompted by the competitiveness of their districts and a lack of resources. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield), who was one of the most prodigious fundraisers in Congress and lavished money on California Republicans, left office in 2023.

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This speaks to a broader fundraising problem facing the party. Millan Patterson was a McCarthy protege. The last party chairman, former legislative leader Brulte, had an Rolodex teeming with donors. The party’s future fundraising prospects are uncertain.

But the face of the party is clearly changing, as evidenced at a celebration of party leaders Friday evening. Eight former chairs, all older white men, took the stage to Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back in Town.” They saluted Millan Patterson, the party’s first Latina, female and millennial leader, who left the stage to Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl.”

On Sunday, the party elected its new chair, Corrin Rankin. She’s the state party’s first Black leader.

“Change is coming to California. It’s time to end the Democrats’ one-party rule and make California great again,” she told delegates after winning the leadership post. “We’re going on the offense. We need to expand the battlefield and to take the fight to every corner of our state.”

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