Des Moines Sun

Senator Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered remarks on the Senate floor expressing concern over recent criticism of the Supreme Court by federal judges. Grassley highlighted the importance of a fair and neutral judiciary in maintaining public confidence in the legal system.

Grassley referenced reports from NBC News and The New York Times about federal judges anonymously criticizing the Supreme Court. According to Grassley, NBC News reported that 12 federal judges gave anonymous interviews, with 10 criticizing the Supreme Court. He also cited a New York Times story from October 11, 2025, which involved questionnaires sent to 400 federal judges, resulting in responses from 65 judges. Some of these responses described the Supreme Court’s emergency orders as “mystical,” “overly blunt,” “incredibly demoralizing and troubling,” and “a slap in the face to the district courts.” One judge compared their relationship with the Supreme Court to “a war zone,” while another referred to a “judicial crisis.”

Grassley stated: "I’m deeply concerned, and I hope the public at large is [as well], that these public attacks on the Court from sitting federal judges damage the public’s faith and confidence in our judicial system."

He explained that he and his House counterpart had sent a letter to Chief Justice Roberts raising concerns about possible violations of judicial ethics rules by these judges. Grassley pointed out that Canon 2 of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges requires judges to act in ways that promote public confidence in judicial integrity and impartiality.

Grassley mentioned a 2024 case where Chief Judge Diaz of the Fourth Circuit found that a judge violated ethical canons by publishing an opinion piece critical of a sitting Supreme Court Justice. He argued this reasoning could apply to recent anonymous comments made by other federal judges.

"Anonymous, public comments from sitting judges describing the relationship between the Supreme Court and lower courts as a 'war zone' and otherwise attacking the legitimacy of Supreme Court rulings undermines public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary," Grassley said.

He called on federal judiciary leadership to provide clear guidance on acceptable commentary for judges and emphasized that such internal criticism threatens trust in judicial institutions.

"So today, I’m here to defend the integrity of the Supreme Court, and to urge the judicial branch to address these attacks that are coming from within, mostly by district court judges – the ones that replied to everything anonymously, and really didn’t have the guts to stand publicly with their criticism of the Supreme Court," Grassley said.

"So, here is my bottom line. I call on the federal judiciary to give clear guidance to federal judges on acceptable public commentary, and to take seriously the public’s perception and confidence in the courts."