Two months of Trump: ‘He’s threatening the whole basis of the US Constitution’

Read time: 5 mins

In brief…

• Trump claims he will overturn Biden’s pardons because they were signed by an autopen, and while it might seem a petty move it highlights the president’s lack of respect for the US legal system.
• The News Agents say the president, who also ignored court orders not to deport migrant people, is pushing the limits of his power.
• He is currently facing little to no challenge from either Republicans or Democrats on his actions, who are seeking a “quiet life” in the Capitol, because they are afraid of Trump.

What’s the story?

When Donald Trump posted on social media to say he would overturn the pardons granted by Joe Biden as he left The White House, his supporters rejoiced, and his critics chalked it up to yet another online outburst.

As is tradition, Biden issued pardons for people involved in his presidency – including Dr. Anthony Fauci and members of the House committee who investigated the 2020 Capitol insurrection – many of which were expected to be targeted by Trump when he took power, having warned of having an "enemies list".

Trump says Biden's pardons were "void" because the orders were signed with an autopen (a device which automatically writes a signature).

Like many of Trump's social media promises and threats, it is unlikely these will be overturned, but The News Agents say this is a perfect representation of how Trump is operating as president.

"I think it's very unlikely that, because it was signed by an auto pen, that even that Supreme Court would say that those pardons were void or null," says Lewis Goodall.

"It's very easy to get distracted, as ever, with Trump by the fire and fury and the daily escapades and fireworks that we see every single day, and to lose sight of the wider themes.

"What we've seen play out over the last 10 weeks or so has been this pushing of the limits of presidential authority, of seeing exactly what he can get away with under the Constitution, and indeed, potentially beyond the powers conferred to him by the Constitution. We're seeing that in area after area."

How has Trump ignored the Constitution

Trump's push for power goes a lot further than raging about a pen. This week, despite being told by a judge that 238 Venezuelan migrants (claimed to be members of a criminal gang) could not be deported, Trump did it anyway.

"For some people, they have been waiting for this moment when Trump was going to ignore a court order and that would provoke a constitutional crisis, or certainly a constitutional moment," says Lewis.

"Some people are saying that that moment has come already."

The Trump administration claims no court order was breached, because planes involved in the deportation were already in the air and over international waters.

Additionally, Dr. Rasha Alawieh, who lived in Rhode Island, was deported for attending the funeral of Hamas leader Hassan Nasrallah, despite a court order being issued to prevent her being removed from the country.

"There comes a point where the challenge – whether it be over Joe Biden's pardons, whether it be over a Lebanese Doctor getting sent back to her country, whether it be over a bunch of Venezuelan hoodlums who are put on a plane to El Salvador – is who has the power?" Jon Sopel says.

"Do the courts, the judiciary, have the power, or can the President just totally disregard what the courts say.

"At this point, we are seeing something play out which undermines and threatens the whole basis of the US Constitution, the idea that there are three co equal branches, but Trump's view is that he's the boss."

Lewis says that Trump's lack of adherence to court rulings can also be seen in his appointment of Elon Musk, a non-elected official, to head up his Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), shutting down official programmes and entire departments approved by Congress.

America's constitution now in 'uncharted waters'

Greg Nunziata, executive director of the Society for the Rule of Law, tells The News Agents that while he doesn’t consider America to be experiencing a constitutional crisis yet, he admits it is on the horizon.

“The real crisis comes if the administration directly refuses to comply with a court order, particularly one backed up by the US Supreme Court,” Nunziata says.

“So we're not there yet, but there seems to be, there's a campaign of intimidation and delegitimisation of the judiciary by the White House and its allies.”

He says Trump is “testing the very foundations and basic principles of our constitutional order” not seen in his lifetime.

“The President and his administration are deliberately inviting challenges with the courts and questioning the authority of the courts and the rule of law,” he continues.

“So we are in very much uncharted waters.”

Nunziata first began working in politics under George W Bush, and says he fully complied with court orders, even ones he didn't agree with.

“Instead, you have this President and his allies, particularly the Vice President, suggesting that there is something illegitimate about the courts restraining the president in any way.”

What's The News Agents' take?

Lewis says institutions such as Congress and the Supreme Court only exist, and work, if there is "commitment of political elites to ensure that they're adhered to".

That, he adds, simply is not happening within the Republican Party right now.

"So much of this goes down to Trump doing what he can get away with," Lewis says.

"It is up to Congress to assert its authority and to assert that the president must do what they have told him to do by law.

"If they are unwilling or unable to do that – and it is certainly the case that the Republican majorities in both houses right now are unwilling to do that – then they are allowing the vacuum to be there, to allow Trump to behave in an illegal fashion. It is on them."

He says there are fears Trump's actions could accelerate a constitutional crisis, where political order shut down.

This could be down to elected officials, on both sides of US politics, choosing to simply not rock the boat, and guarantee themselves an easier political life if they turn a blind eye to Trump's ongoing actions.

"For so many at the top of Congress at the moment, in the Republican and the Democratic Parties, they are electing, in many ways, to have a quiet life," Lewis adds.

That, he says, simply comes down to fear of the man running the country.

"Despite all of that political power that is potentially in their hands, they are choosing not to exercise it because they're afraid of Donald Trump.

But while Trump has followed through on deportation promises, despite being ordered by courts not to, incidents such as Biden's autopen serve another purpose for the rogue President.

"He's not going to revoke Biden's pardons. That is just bullshit," Jon says.

"That is just another headline-seeking move, but you can't ignore it either. There have been a whole series of efforts to gradually undermine the rule of law and the supremacy of courts to make decisions.

"The White House is saying, it knows the courts have ruled this, but we're going to do it anyway."

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