A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed an unprecedented lawsuit the Trump administration filed against every federal judge in Maryland, ruling the executive branch lacked both standing and a valid cause of action. U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen, a 2020 Trump appointee brought in from Virginia to hear the case, said the attempt to sue a coordinate branch of government "would run counter to overwhelming precedent, depart from longstanding constitutional tradition, and offend the rule of law." He called the litigation “novel and potentially calamitous,” adding that judges are immune from such suits and that the court itself enjoys sovereign immunity. The Justice Department sued in June after Chief Judge George L. Russell III issued a standing order that automatically bars immigration authorities from deporting detainees for two business days once they file habeas corpus petitions. Prosecutors argued the pause impeded the president’s authority to enforce immigration law, but Cullen said the administration should pursue traditional channels—such as appealing an individual case or petitioning the Fourth Circuit’s Judicial Council—rather than launching an inter-branch lawsuit. Cullen also rebuked what he called a “concerted effort” by the executive to “smear and impugn” judges who rule against it. Within hours of the decision, the Justice Department filed a notice of appeal to the Richmond-based Fourth Circuit, signalling the dispute over the Maryland order—and the broader clash between the administration and the federal judiciary—will continue.