Trump is canceling the rule of law—and US democracy

Justice Department has stated explicitly that it is no longer in the business of routinely complying with orders from federal district courts or courts of appeal, and the administration has treated laws mandating spending (and more) as optional.The rhetorical foundation for these moves is Trump’s claim to have a “mandate” in the form of his (slender) election victory in November 2024. Never mind that, under the US constitutional system, presidents exercise authority within the terms set by the country’s laws.

The administration is determined to dissolve both pillars of the rule of law—the predictability putatively promised by written, statutory law, and the principle that officials are as bound by that body of rules as ordinary people.Accordingly, Trump’s talk of a “mandate” offers a useful starting point for thinking about the months and years ahead. The central questions that will shape not just the second Trump administration, but also the dimming prospects for American democracy, will turn on how far the president is willing to push this claim.

To what lengths will he go to preserve the illusion?To answer that, we need to consider how the vision of a limitless mandate has been advanced to dismantle the rule of law so far. The story here is less about the president, and more about the other branches of government that are supposed to act as checks on America’s executive.

Of course, the fact of united government under Republican control means that the Trump administration faces scant oversight or resistance from Congress. But perhaps the most significant enabler of the president’s lawlessness has been the Supreme Court.Under Chief Justice John Roberts, the Court, seemingly paradoxically, has become a force for