As the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether to block a court-ordered deposition of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a suit over the 2020 census, Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday night inveighed against federal judges who have allowed what he called “invasive discovery” into executive branch operations.

Accusing an “increasing number of judges” of being akin to “roving inspectors general for the entire executive branch,” Sessions, speaking at a Heritage Foundation event in Washington, pointed to the Ross deposition dispute to argue that judges are going beyond their powers to resolve purely legal disputes.