Amid growing tensions between the executive branch and the judiciary, Second Lady Usha Vance has called for a renewed respect for Supreme Court Justices. Her appeal comes on the heels of pointed criticism from her husband, Vice President JD Vance, and President Donald Trump, directed at the nation’s highest court.
In an interview with ABC News, Usha Vance emphasized the challenges faced by Supreme Court Justices. “I have a lot of respect for the justices,” she stated. “They have a demanding and difficult job, having to navigate the scrutiny of public life, much like those in Congress, the media, and the executive branch.”
Vance expressed concern about the current climate of intense scrutiny and criticism faced by the judiciary. “I want people to treat them with respect,” she urged. Vance noted a shift in public sentiment towards judges that, in her view, was not as prevalent 150 years ago when the judiciary was less visible in the public eye.
Drawing from her own experiences as a former law clerk for Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Usha Vance’s insights carry weight. Her legal background provides her with a profound understanding of the inner workings of the Supreme Court.
Her remarks gain further significance as they follow President Trump’s continued public disparagement of Supreme Court Justices, including three he nominated. In recent months, Trump criticized Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett for opposing his tariff policies, lamenting their perceived lack of respect for the nation and its citizens.
In May, Trump ridiculed two Justices he appointed himself, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, for ruling against his unilateral tariffs. ‘People that I appointed have shown so little respect to our country, and its people,’ the President posted on social media.
The month before, he ripped into ‘certain’ conservative Justices for going ‘weak, stupid, and bad.’
This year he’s also likened the Supreme Court to ‘little more than a weaponized and unjust political organization’ that had ‘unnecessarily ransacked’ the US.
Second Lady Usha Vance, who clerked for several Supreme Court Justices, said in a recent ABC News interview that the Justices deserve to be treated with respect.
Both President Donald Trump and VP JD Vance have ripped into the Supreme Court Justices for rulings against the administration this year
The Second Lady’s husband has also publicly bashed the court, likening their tariff ruling to ‘lawlessness’ that will ‘make it harder for the president to protect American industries.’
Usha did not comment on her husband’s or Trump’s attacks on the court in the interview.
‘I’m hopeful that people will continue to treat them with the sense of humanity and you know, without the kind of anger that’s led to some attacks on judges,’ Usha added.
She also noted how she has not been ‘following the activities of the court very closely’ after setting aside her legal career the last few years.
The Second Lady’s Office has been contacted for comment.
Her comments come ahead of pending Supreme Court rulings pushed by the Trump administration, including decisions on birthright citizenship, trans athletes participating in sports and the President’s ability to fire a Federal Reserve Governor.
The Supreme Court – like Congress and the presidency – has disappointed many Americans in recent years.
Just 42 percent of respondents approved of the Supreme Court compared to a 52 percent disapproval rate in a September 2025 Gallup poll.
In March, Chief Justice Roberts addressed attacks on the judiciary branch, noting how personal attacks are ‘dangerous’ and need to end.
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, and retired Justice Anthony Kennedy attend Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol in 2025
‘Personally directed hostility is dangerous and it’s got to stop,’ Supreme Court Justice John Roberts (L) said recently of the attacks on the judiciary
‘The problem sometimes is that the criticism can move from a focus on legal analysis to personalities,’ Roberts said while speaking at Rice University. ‘Judges around the country work very hard to get it right. And if they don’t, their opinions are subject to criticism.’
‘But personally directed hostility is dangerous and it’s got to stop,’ he added.
Roberts also slammed the notion that Justices must uphold the priorities or policies of the administration that nominated them.
‘President George W. Bush appointed me 20 years ago,’ said Roberts. ‘The idea that I’m carrying out his agenda somehow is absurd.’
‘The issues here now, today, nobody would have thought those were going to be a big deal 20 years ago, and history is full of examples of presidents appointing people and being really surprised how they turned out, going both ways.’
The Supreme Court has also been targeted with an assassination attempt in recent years.
A 2022 plot to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh ended when the attacker arrived at the official’s home early in the morning with a gun before backing out and calling 911 on themselves.
Additionally, local authorities rushed to Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s Virginia home last month after a swatting call – a criminal hoax where an individual made a 911 call faking an emergency at her residence.
