Sonia Sotomayor Has Faith Court Orders Won’t Be Ignored Amid Fears About Trump’s Views

“By and large, we have been a country who has understood that the rule of law has helped us maintain our democracy,” the U.S. Supreme Court justice said.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Tuesday expressed faith in the foundations of U.S. democracy amid concerns that the country is on the brink of a constitutional crisis in the early days of President Donald Trump’s second term in office.

Trump’s allies, including Vice President JD Vance, have argued that courts are infringing on the Trump administration’s authority as many of their extreme policies aimed at reshaping the federal government have been blocked by judges.

While Sotomayor did not mention Trump, she explained the responsibility the courts have in using what she described as the “soft power” afforded to them by the Founding Fathers to interpret the Constitution.

“We have to, in our opinions, make it clear to the society, to the presidents, to the Congress, to the people, that we are doing things based on law and the Constitution as we are interpreting it fairly,” she said at an event hosted at Miami Dade College.

Sotomayor, who was nominated to serve on the court in 2009 by former President Barack Obama, also suggested that, unlike other branches of government, the Judiciary stands the test of time.