WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Thom Tillis, member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, recently co-sponsored the Judicial Relief Clarification Act of 2025 (JRCA), legislation that would limit federal court orders to parties directly before the court – ending the practice of universal injunctions and clarifying the constitutional role of the judicial branch.
Under this legislation, parties seeking nationwide relief would be required to file a class action lawsuit. The bill would amend the Administrative Procedure Act and the Declaratory Judgment Act to limit courts’ decisions to the parties before them, and make temporary restraining orders (TROs) immediately appealable.
“The judiciary branch plays an important role in our nation’s political system, but it has become clear that the federal court’s use of nationwide injunctions is unsustainable,” said Senator Tillis. “This commonsense legislation will clarify the scope of judicial rulings and increase the threshold for judges to issue decisions that affect every American.”
Download bill text HERE and a fact sheet HERE.
Background:
Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution limits courts to deciding “cases” or “controversies.” Nevertheless, it has become increasingly common for federal judges to issue sweeping “universal injunctions” that apply even to people who are not before the court. Universal injunctions defy two centuries of historic precedent. Scholars have found no clear record of such an order before 1963 – they have only become common in the last decade. In the first two months of President Trump’s second term, district court judges have issued more universal injunctions against his policies than the Biden administration experienced in four years.
Concern about this recent practice spans the ideological spectrum. In 2020, Justices Gorsuch and Thomas explained: “By their nature, universal injunctions tend to force judges into making rushed, high-stakes, low-information decisions.” In 2022, Justice Kagan said: “It just can't be right that one district judge can stop a nationwide policy in its tracks and leave it stopped for the years that it takes to go through the normal process.”
The Supreme Court can and should end this practice, but has failed to do so. However, Article III gives Congress the authority to establish, organize and regulate the jurisdiction of federal courts.
Congress has also enacted rules governing the review of agency actions through the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 (APA). Under Section 706 of the APA, a person or entity that claims to have been unlawfully harmed by a federal agency action may seek relief in federal court. Currently, many courts interpret the APA to allow for a single district judge to vacate agency actions for everyone, including parties that are not before the court.
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