A provision ā€œhiddenā€ in the sweeping budget bill that passed the U.S. House on Thursday seeks to limit the ability of courts—including the U.S. Supreme Court—from enforcing their orders.

ā€œNo court of the United States may use appropriated funds to enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued,ā€ the provision in the bill, which is more than 1,000 pages long, says.

The provision ā€œwould make most existing injunctions—in antitrust cases, police reform cases, school desegregation cases, and others—unenforceable,ā€ Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the University of California Berkeley School of Law, told Newsweek. ā€œIt serves no purpose but to weaken the power of the federal courts.ā€

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    ā€œNo court of the United States may use appropriated funds to enforce a contempt citation for failure to comply with an injunction or temporary restraining order if no security was given when the injunction or order was issued,ā€ the provision in the bill, which is more than 1,000 pages long, says.

    The provision ā€œwould make most existing injunctions—in antitrust cases, police reform cases, school desegregation cases, and others—unenforceable,ā€ Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the University of California Berkeley School of Law, told Newsweek. ā€œIt serves no purpose but to weaken the power of the federal courts.ā€

    This is the kind of legislation you would use to pave the way for fascism. It sets the stage for autocracy. It has in mind a ruler. There’s no other explanation.