Is Trump's Imperial Presidency Here to Stay?

"A little more than a year into his second term, there's bipartisan agreement that Donald Trump has broken just about every presidential precedent. Presumably, Trump's most ardent fans agree with his self-assessments of unparalleled greatness and of a presidency so consequential that it literally saved the country from destruction. For his detractors, of course, Trump has distorted the presidency as completely as he has defaced the White House, particularly in his assertions of virtually unlimited powers."

"The expansion of presidential powers long precedes Trump, and both Democratic and Republican chief executives contributed to this realignment in the separation of powers. By the time Trump took office in 2017, conservatives had spent a long time developing theories to support an activist presidency. He used and abused those theories in his first term and then on a massive scale in his second."

"What distinguished Trump's second term from all other precedents was the sheer scope and scale of his power grabs. This included: A historic bevy of executive orders claiming maximum executive powers, often on the basis of dubious expansive interpretations of "emergency powers." An assault on the "deep state" of federal agencies to bend them and their employees to the president's agenda. A regular and systemic testing of the judicial branch's ability and willingness to restrain the"

Donald Trump broke many presidential precedents and asserted near‑unlimited authority, praised by supporters and criticized by opponents. Expansion of presidential power long predates his tenure, with both parties contributing to a realignment in the separation of powers. Conservative legal theories enabled a more activist presidency, which Trump applied aggressively in his first term and escalated in his second. The second term featured sweeping executive orders invoking emergency authorities, efforts to subordinate federal agencies labeled the "deep state," and repeated tests of the judiciary's capacity and willingness to check the president. Successor presidents' choices about executive power will shape American governance and democratic resilience.

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