Karoline Leavitt Unleashes on Amy Coney Barrett After Surprise SCOTUS Split in Trump Deportation Fight

In the wake of a razor-thin 5-4 Supreme Court decision that permitted the Biden administration to continue deportation flights to El Salvador, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt didn’t mince words. While she lauded the ruling as a “massive legal victory” for President Trump’s ongoing efforts to assert executive authority over immigration enforcement, Leavitt subtly but unmistakably expressed disappointment in Justice Amy Coney Barrett — a Trump appointee who broke ranks with her conservative colleagues to side with the liberal bloc.

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“We wish this had been a nine-zero ruling,” Leavitt emphasized during her press briefing. “The president’s constitutional authority was never in question — and this ruling confirms that.” Without directly naming Barrett, Leavitt’s tone and carefully chosen language made it abundantly clear that the White House saw her vote as a betrayal to conservative jurisprudence.

Leavitt escalated her rhetoric by slamming Judge James Boasberg, the district judge who had earlier halted the deportation flights on legal grounds. Labeling him a “rogue, low-level district court judge,” Leavitt accused Boasberg of acting as a judicial activist bent on sabotaging Trump’s executive powers.

The ruling, according to Leavitt, sends a clear message that Trump retains full constitutional authority under laws like the Alien Enemies Act to remove what she called “foreign terrorist invaders.” She called the SCOTUS decision a “smackdown” of lower court interference and praised the justices for standing firm in protecting presidential powers and national security interests.

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Despite the celebratory tone, the ruling included a significant caveat: detainees identified as alleged gang members must be allowed to seek judicial review before deportation — a point that Leavitt downplayed in her statements.