WASHINGTON — Utah Sen. Mike Lee is accusing a federal judge of abusing her power after blocking the Trump administration from enforcing a pause in funding to Planned Parenthood.
Lee, who previously worked as a lawyer, posted a lengthy social media thread explaining the decision, arguing District Court Judge Indira Talwani of Massachusetts did not have legal standing to issue the temporary restraining order blocking the law from taking effect. Instead, Lee suggested the order was a “pretty egregious judicial usurpation of legislative power” and could be subject to congressional investigation.
“We have the best judicial system in the world, but it’s run by fallible, mortal humans. People make mistakes. But unless I’m missing something here, this wasn’t an honest mistake,” Lee wrote, in part, in the thread on X. “And unless there’s more to the story here, I suspect the House Judiciary Committee will consider articles of impeachment.”
It’s not clear if the House Judiciary Committee is considering further action. The Deseret News contacted a spokesperson for the committee.
Congress passed President Donald Trump’s massive tax reconciliation bill last week, and tucked inside the package was a measure to strip Planned Parenthood from receiving federal Medicaid funds for one year. Democrats were outraged by the measure, arguing it would put hundreds of health care centers at risk and could cost taxpayers millions of dollars over the next several years.
The provision prompted immediate legal challenges from the reproductive health agency, which sued the Trump administration on Monday. Two state chapters, including the Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, signed on to the lawsuit.
Talwani’s order blocks the provision from taking effect for 14 days, which Lee argued was an abuse of judicial power.
The lawsuit states that the Planned Parenthood Federation of America is being punished “for lawful activity,” arguing its practice of “providing legal abortion access” is funded outside of the Medicaid program and does not use federal funding. However, the health care program is necessary for other services the organization provides, the lawsuit argues.
In his response, Lee surmised the lawsuit was filed under the argument “likely predicated on an assertion that the statute is unconstitutional.”
“What part of the Constitution prohibits Congress from defunding Planned Parenthood?” Lee wrote in response.
Lee pushed back on the assertion that the paused funding was punishment, claiming that the denial of federal funding to a private organization — ”even one that long received federal funding,” he wrote — does not constitute as a penalty. The Utah Republican also argued the provision does not violate the First Amendment as it “had nothing to do with Planned Parenthood’s advocacy or speech.”
The Planned Parenthood groups praised Talwani’s temporary order, saying that the withdrawal of federal funding would threaten access to treatments such as cancer screenings and medication such as birth control.
“Already, in states across the country, providers and health center staff have been forced to turn away patients who use Medicaid to get basic sexual and reproductive health care because President Trump and his backers in Congress passed a law to block them from going to Planned Parenthood,” the groups said. “There are no other providers who can fill the gap if the ‘defunding’ of Planned Parenthood is allowed to stand.”