In a split decision, the Supreme Court has handed President Trump a big win by limiting the power of lower court judges in issuing sweeping nationwide injunctions against his executive orders. 

In a 6-3 ruling, the justices say lower courts can be blocked from issuing injunctions that are broader than necessary. The court’s three liberals dissented.

Both Republican and Democratic administrations have complained for years that a single judge can derail their agendas.

Friday’s decision involves emergency applications seeking relief from nationwide injunctions blocking Mr. Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship. After several federal district court judges placed a nationwide stay on that order, the government asked the Supreme Court to restrict lower court jurists’ powers.

The decision says lower federal courts have overreached with the injunctions because they do not exercise general oversight of the executive branch.

In writing the majority opinion, Justice Amy Coney Barrett says, “The question before us is whether the Government is likely to suffer irreparable harm from the District Courts’ entry of injunctions that likely exceed the authority conferred by the Judiciary Act.  The answer to that question is yes.”

In a forceful dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor writes, “With the stroke of a pen, the President has made a ‘solemn mockery’ of our Constitution. Rather than stand firm, the Court gives way. Because such complicity should know no place in our system of law, I dissent.”

Mr. Trump hailed the decision on his Truth Social account. “GIANT WIN in the United States Supreme Court! Even the Birthright Citizenship Hoax has been, indirectly, hit hard. It had to do with the babies of slaves (same year!), not the SCAMMING of our Immigration process. Congratulations to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Solicitor General John Sauer, and the entire DOJ.”

Mr. Trump called it a “monumental victory” and thanked the Supreme Court in a late morning White House press briefing.

“This was a decision based on common sense,” Mr. Trump said, adding that it upholds presidential powers. “The Constitution has been brought back,” the president said.

He also praised Justice Barrett, who has been a target of some conservatives for occasionally agreeing with liberals on the court. “Her decision was brilliantly written today,” Mr. Trump said.

Attorney General Bondi also cheered the decision. “Americans are finally getting what they voted for. No longer will we have rogue judges striking down President Trump’s policies across the entire nation,” Ms. Bondi said.

“These lawless injunctions gave relief to everyone in the world instead of the parties before the court,” she added. “As the Supreme Court held today, they turned district courts into the imperial judiciary.” 

The conservative majority is leaving open the possibility that Mr. Trump’s birthright citizenship could remain blocked. The executive order will not go into effect for 30 days, allowing its legality to be contested further. Friday’s ruling simply limits injunctions against implementing it as the lawsuits move through the courts.

That issue is likely to come back before the Supreme Court in the future.