"For the past eight months, the Trump administration has been turning the executive branch into an elaborate partisan earth-scorching apparatus, one that the president and his allies clearly believe has no meaningful legal or moral limits. In some ways, you can't blame Trump and his lieutenants. The Supreme Court has made legitimizing this lawlessness as quickly as possible its number-one priority, often setting aside the plain language of existing laws to fast-track affirmation of the president's right to unlimited roughshod-riding."
"Many on the left, with good reason, believe that the Supreme Court will suddenly rediscover some limits on presidential authority the next time a Democrat is elected president-if indeed that is ever again allowed to happen. But it's also worth thinking about what it would look like if this earth-scorching apparatus falls cleanly into the hands of a Democrat acting under the license furnished by the court to use what are effectively dictatorial powers for a campaign of blue vengeance."
"I'm advancing this thought experiment not because I in any way endorse this model of executive power-rather, I'm hoping to highlight the inherent insanity of what is currently unfolding. What could a Democrat who woke up every day determined to violate the Constitution as we understood it a few years ago do with that unaccountable power? And would your nearest MAGA friend or relative think that what you're about to read sounds like a good time?"
Over eight months the Trump administration has converted the executive branch into a partisan, law-defying apparatus operating without meaningful legal or moral limits. The Supreme Court has prioritized legitimizing that lawlessness, frequently setting aside statutory language to affirm expansive presidential authority, exemplified by upholding an illegal firing at the Federal Trade Commission. The same judicial license could enable a future Democratic president to wield unaccountable power for retaliatory, potentially dictatorial campaigns. The thought experiment highlights the systemic danger of weaponized federal agencies and the broader risk to constitutional checks and civil liberties when courts enable unchecked executive power.
Read at The Nation
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