Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts issues warning on 'judicial independence' weeks before Trump inauguration

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said Tuesday officials from "across the political spectrum" have shown "open disregard for federal court rulings."

"It is not in the nature of judicial work to make everyone happy. Most cases have a winner and a loser. Every Administration suffers defeats in the court system—sometimes in cases with major ramifications for executive or legislative power or other consequential topics," Robert wrote in the 15-page report. "Nevertheless, for the past several decades, the decisions of the courts, popular or not, have been followed, and the Nation has avoided the standoffs that plagued the 1950s and 1960s."  Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on X: @danimwallace. 

"Within the past few years, however, elected officials from across the political spectrum have raised the specter of open disregard for federal court rulings," Roberts said, without naming Trump, President Biden or any specific lawmaker. "These dangerous suggestions, however sporadic, must be soundly rejected. Judicial independence is worth preserving. As my late colleague Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote, an independent judiciary is ‘essential to the rule of law in any land,’ yet it ‘is vulnerable to assault; it can be shattered if the society law exists to serve does not take care to assure its preservation.’"

"I urge all Americans to appreciate this inheritance from our founding generation and cherish its endurance," Roberts said.