Congress has not suspended habeas corpus.
Posted by The Briefing with Jen Psaki, Checked
- Sources
- 6 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 68%
The Briefing with Jen PsakiSep 24, 2026
As of 2026-09-24, sources show Congress had not suspended habeas corpus in the current situation: Lawfare (Sept 2026) says Trump 'has yet to suspend habeas,' and reporting on the Stephen Miller proposal says the idea was nixed and never enacted.
A guest makes this claim. Listeners heard it, so it counts against the post, and on the guest's own record.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… At this point, that's what their emergency is. But look, we had midterm congressional elections through the Civil War, through World War One, through World War Two. What is the crisis that would justify Congress, you know, to suspend habeas corpus? There's nothing there, and Congress hasn't done it. So just like the Supreme Court slapped him down when he said he wanted the Post Office essentially to take over the electoral process, of course they would slap it down again if he said he wants to make up some martial law provision. …
The Briefing with Jen Psaki · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Lawfare (September 2026) states that only Congress may lawfully suspend the writ and that President Trump 'has yet to suspend habeas,' with Stephen Miller's proposal meeting resistance.[4]
Supports. Reporting on the NYT's secret Scharf memo says the administration weighed suspension but Trump ultimately did not follow through, and the Chicago Sun-Times reports the proposal was nixed.[5][6][7]
Supports. Fordham law review states Congress has not explicitly suspended the writ for the War on Terror, and the Constitution's Suspension Clause places the power with Congress.[1][3]
Context. The Congressional Record shows only a May 2025 floor statement that Miller said the administration was 'actively looking' at suspension; it records no enacted suspension.[2]
Context. Fordham notes that Grant suspended the writ during Reconstruction pursuant to congressional authorization, so Congress has suspended it historically; the claim is accurate for the current situation the post addressed.[1]
Sources
7 sources: 2 primary, 1 tier 2, 4 not rated
- 1Suspending Habeas Corpus: Article I, Section 9, Clause 2, or ...ir.lawnet.fordham.edu · primary source · cited for: supports, context
- 2Congressional Recordcongress.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 3Read Will Scharf’s Confidential Habeas Corpus Memonytimes.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 4Free Speech, Deportation, and the Suspension of Habeas ...lawfaremedia.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Push to suspend habeas corpus for undocumented immigrants was ...chicago.suntimes.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Trump considered suspending basic constitutional right after losing legal battlesal.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7"Frustrated by Courts, Trump Weighed Suspending a ...electionlawblog.org · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post