A judge doesn’t have the authority to tell President Donald Trump that he cannot deport immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act, Vice President JD Vance declared during a Fox News interview Thursday.
It’s the president’s decision, he told Bret Baier on Special Report, laying the groundwork for a constitutional confrontation over American authority.
His declaration followed the ruling earlier Thursday by Trump-appointed Texas District Judge Fernando Rodriguez that it was “unlawful” for the administration to use the 18th Century war-time law to detain and deport alleged Tren de Aragua members.
“The judge doesn’t decide if the Alien Enemies Act applies – the president does,” Vance told Baier fresh off a tour of the Nucor Steel plant in Huger, South Carolina.
“If you tell the president he can’t deport illegal criminals, you’re saying he can’t be president. We reject that, and so will the Supreme Court.”
🇺🇸 JD VANCE: IF THE PRESIDENT CAN’T DEPORT ILLEGAL CRIMINALS, “HE’S NOT ALLOWED TO BE PRESIDENT”
“The judge doesn’t decide if the Alien Enemies Act applies—the President does.
Biden let in millions, and now we’re being blocked from deporting them.
If you tell the President he… https://t.co/TtVyW4RCKu pic.twitter.com/MdjI3UjV06
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 1, 2025
The administration is appealing multiple recent court rulings on deportations by the Trump administration.
Vance also discussed U.S. military strikes on the Houthi rebels in Yemen, tariffs, the Ukraine-Russia war, and the ejection of Mike Waltz from his role as national security adviser to serve instead as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
“I think he’s a good guy,” Vance said of Waltz. “He has my complete trust, and I know the president really likes Mike Waltz. He just thought that the UN Ambassador position would be a better place for Mike Waltz to be.”
For weeks, rumors swirled about Waltz being let go after he inadvertently invited the top editor of The Atlantic to a Signal group chat while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth discussed detailed strike plans against Houthi rebels. Signal is not an authorized communication system for sensitive military conversations under Pentagon protocol.
Vance, who was also part of the chat, denied in the interview that the Signal leak caused a rift between Trump and Waltz. He even boasted at one point that the leaked chat “reflected well” on then because it showed them “deliberating.”
Asked about the economy, Vance asserted the administration had inherited the current economic turmoil from President Joe Biden.
“This isn’t always going to be easy,” Vance admitted about the toll of tariffs imposed by Trump, adding his boss wants to make this “the golden century for our country.”
The vice president wouldn’t give specifics on any potential trade deals.
“We’ve got negotiations with Japan, with Korea, we’ve got negotiations going on with some folks in Europe, and obviously we’ve got a good negotiation going on in India,” said Vance, explaining the administration is working to open India to American technology and agricultural products.
He hailed during his plant tour what he called an “industrial renaissance” of coming new jobs, and was welcomed by union workers and executives.
Baier referred to the photo of Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sitting closely at the Vatican in a discussion ahead of Pope Francis’ funeral Saturday. Since then the U.S. has reached a rare earth minerals investment deal with Ukraine, and Trump has expressed new suspicions that Russian President Vladimir Putin may not be as serious about peace as he has indicated.
“I think the question is to see whether we can actually find some middle ground here for these guys to bring this conflict to a close,” Vance said.
“I am optimistic, but it is, ultimately, it’s hard to say confident, because the Russians and Ukrainians, they’re the ones who have to take the final step.”
