Fielding questions Tuesday from a pool of reporters in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump replied, when asked, that he would abide by court rulings blocking parts of his agenda.
"I always abide by the courts and then I'll have to appeal it. But then what he's done," Trump added, speaking hypothetically of a judge, "is he's slowed down momentum. And it gives crooked people more time to cover up the books."
"The answer is I always abide by the courts — always abide by them. And we'll appeal," he noted. "But appeals take a long time."
The president's reply comes amid lawsuits aimed at the Trump administration's dismantling of government programs as it seeks to cut wasteful spending. On Monday, The Hill reported that 22 states are suing the Trump administration to block the cutting of National Institutes of Health research payments. Newsweek reported Thursday that government worker unions are suing the Trump administration amid its cut to USAID.
During the press conference, Trump suggested that if a judge is shown a "corrupt check" being sent out, they should block it.
"I would hope that if you go to a judge and show them, 'Here's a corrupt situation. We have a check to be sent. But we found it to be corrupt. Do you want us to sent this corrupt check to a person or do you want us not to give it and give to back to the taxpayer?' I would hope a judge would say, 'Don't send it; give it back to the taxpayer.'"