Congressional Republicans celebrated while Democrats fumed Monday over Judge Aileen Cannon’s ruling dismissing former President Donald Trump’s federal classified documents case. 

Cannon ruled that, under the Constitution’s appointments clause, special counsel Jack Smith should have been nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Trump faced dozens of charges of retaining classified documents after he left the White House and obstructing the government’s efforts to recover them.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the ruling should be the first step toward dismissing all other criminal and civil cases against him. 

“The Democrat Justice Department coordinated ALL of these Political Attacks, which are an Election Interference conspiracy against Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, ME,” Trump wrote two days after he survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. “Let us come together to END all Weaponization of our Justice System, and Make America Great Again!”

Trump and other Republicans have alleged that the four criminal cases against the former president and presumptive GOP nominee are politically motivated. They’ve claimed, without evidence, that President Joe Biden has orchestrated the prosecutions, even ones by local prosecutors. Biden has repeatedly insisted he has had no involvement in the cases against Trump, including those brought by Garland.

Special counsels have long been appointed to investigate particular cases, including politically sensitive ones, to avoid conflicts of interest. A federal appeals court ruled in 2019 that attorneys general have the authority to name the special prosecutors. 

Garland picked Smith to take over the investigations into Trump, previously led by the FBI, after the former president announced he was again running against Biden. 

The Justice Department can appeal Cannon’s ruling, which congressional Republicans praised.

"This is good news for America and for the rule of law,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement. “House Republicans repeatedly argued that Special Counsel Jack Smith abused his office's authority in pursuit of President Trump, and now a federal judge has ruled Smith never possessed the authority in the first place.

“As we work to unify this country following the failed assassination attempt of President Trump, we must also work to end the lawfare and political witch hunts that have unfairly targeted President Trump and destroyed the American people's faith in our system of justice,” Johnson added. 

Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “Judge Cannon’s ruling provides an opportunity for the Biden regime to begin disarming their weaponized government.”

“Another huge hit to the Left’s vendetta against Trump,” added Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis.

Democrats, meanwhile, excoriated the decision.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called it a “breathtakingly misguided ruling” that “flies in the face of long-accepted practice and repetitive judicial precedence.”

“It is wrong on the law and must be appealed immediately,” he said in a statement. “This is further evidence that Judge Cannon cannot handle this case impartially and must be reassigned.”

The timing of Cannon’s ruling put Democrats in a difficult position, coming a day after Biden called on the nation to “lower the temperature in our politics” following Saturday’s attempted assassination of Trump. Several Democrats focused their ire instead on Cannon and what they said they see as a judicial system that has become politicized.

“From the creepy billionaires to Clarence Thomas, from Thomas to Cannon, the message and desired result is delivered,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., wrote on X. “Foul winds are blowing.”

“Cannon—a Trump appointee—is playing political games with the justice system,” posted Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., who called Monday’s decision “shocking.”

But Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., was more critical of Trump, calling the ruling “a corrupt attempt by a Trump-appointed judge to prevent accountability for Donald Trump’s criminal actions.”

“The American people deserve to know whether Trump is guilty of endangering our national security, including our nuclear secrets,” Boyle said in a statement. “Judge Cannon’s shameful decision once again puts Donald Trump above the law.”

In addition to the classified documents case in Florida, Smith secured an indictment over Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The Supreme Court ruled last month that Trump might have some immunity in the case and returned the indictment to a lower-court judge to determine if the alleged crimes relate to his presidential duties.

In cases brought by local prosecutors, Trump was convicted in May of falsifying business records in New York and faces charges related to trying to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. His lawyers have requested the New York verdict be tossed out.