Since President Donald Trump came to office this past January, federal courts have ruled against his administration more than 190 times.

While Senate Republicans attempted to limit that trend, they were recently blocked by their Democratic counterparts. 

Violation of rules

According to The Hill, GOP lawmakers inserted a provision into Trump's tax and spending plan that required plaintiffs to post a bond before suing the federal government.

If such a bond was not posted, then the court would be prohibited from using its contempt powers to enforce injunctions and other rulings.

Although Republicans maintained that the move was needed to prevent frivolous lawsuits, Democrats asked Parliamentarian of the United States Senate, Elizabeth MacDonough, to disallow it.

She agreed, finding last week that the provision is consistent with the Senate's rules on what can be passed via the budget reconciliation process.

Judges often waive bond requirement when the government is sued

USA Today pointed out in May how Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(c) already mandates that those seeking a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order must provide a bond to cover costs incurred by the other party if a judgment is subsequently overturned.

However, judges enjoy discretion in setting the bond amount and frequently waive the requirement when a government policy is being challenged.

One example came in February when the White House Office of Management and Budget asked U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan to demand a bond from the National Council of Nonprofits.

The judge, who ultimately blocked the Trump administration from freezing all federal grants, declined to grant that request. She wrote that the was "alleged to have unlawfully withheld trillions of dollars of previously committed funds to countless recipients" and would suffer no monetary as a result of her injunction

Democrats welcome ruling

The Hill noted that MacDonough's ruling was quickly welcomed in a statement by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who asserted that Republicans were "gutting judicial enforcement, defying the Constitution and bulldozing the very rule of law that forms our democracy."

"But Senate Democrats stopped them cold. We successfully fought for rule of law and struck out this reckless and downright un-American provision," Schumer boasted.

"If enacted, this would have been one of the most brazen power grabs we’ve seen in American history — an attempt to let a future President Trump ignore court orders with impunity, putting him above the law," he continued.

"Donald Trump is not above the law. And thanks to Senate Democrats — including the tireless work of Senator Durbin and the Judiciary Democrats — the courts can still hold him and any president accountable," the senator added.