Iowans Confront Sen. Chuck Grassley Over Trump Administration’s Defiance of Supreme Court Order
A town hall meeting in Fort Madison, Iowa, turned heated Tuesday as Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) faced a barrage of criticism from voters over the Trump administration’s refusal to comply with a Supreme Court order involving a deportation case.
“If I get a court order to pay $1,200, can I just say no?” one visibly frustrated attendee asked. “Because he [Trump] just got an order from the Supreme Court and he just said NO!” The man was referring to a recent ruling that directed the Trump administration to “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador and imprisoned there.
Despite the court's directive, the administration has claimed it cannot retrieve Abrego Garcia and appears not to have made a genuine effort to do so. Meanwhile, the U.S. is reportedly paying El Salvador $6 million to detain Abrego Garcia and others deported under similar circumstances.
“Are you going to bring that guy back from El Salvador?” another voter shouted, drawing applause from the packed room of about 100 people.
“The president doesn’t care,” one attendee added. “He got an order from the Supreme Court and said: ‘No, screw it!’”
“Why won’t you do your job, Senator?” another demanded.
A particularly pointed question came from a man who asked: “What are you, the Congress, who are supposed to rein in this dictator, going to do about it? These people have been sentenced to life in a foreign prison with no due process.”
Senator Grassley, 91, responded that he had no intention of intervening, stating that the matter falls outside Congress’s powers. He added that El Salvador is “an independent country,” though the administration’s financial role in imprisoning Abrego Garcia raised further concerns among constituents.
In addition to the deportation issue, attendees voiced strong objections to Trump’s broader immigration policies, tariffs, steep cuts to federal programs, and the future of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Back in Maryland, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered Trump administration officials to testify about what, if any, steps they’ve taken to comply with the lower court ruling—now upheld by the Supreme Court. “There will be no tolerance for gamesmanship or grandstanding,” she warned, instructing government lawyers to cancel other obligations if necessary.
Judge Xinis is expected to rule on whether the administration acted in good faith or is in contempt of court.
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