State of the (Dis)Union: Our Constitutional Crisis  

In the 45 days since Inauguration Day, we have witnessed overwhelming changes in our federal politics. Since taking office, President Trump has released dozens of executive orders that step well beyond his legal authority as president. These orders violate the free speech of NGOs, the civil rights of vulnerable communities, longstanding privacy laws, and laws requiring the administration to release already-appropriated funds. He has illegally fired thousands of federal employees, threatened national security and violated personal privacy protections by broadly authorizing access to sensitive data at every level of government all under the guise of “efficiency.” Finally, the cancellation of almost all foreign assistance and blatant disregard for human rights has led to the separation of children from parents and the detention of U.S. citizens.  

Our office has been receiving messages from UCC members from around the country who are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and afraid about a constitutional crisis. 

And now, President Trump is showing us what happens when the checks and balances we learned about in history class break down.  

Our nation’s charter creates an accountable president to execute the law. The framers of the Constitution created an independent judiciary as a coequal branch of government, recognizing that the courts had to check abuse of power by the executive and legislative branches.  

The result is that in our system of government, no officer — not even the president — is above the law. Courts have the authority to issue judgments that bind the president. The framers rejected the notion that court judgments could be set aside by the executive. To do so would be fundamentally inconsistent with the independent judiciary’s role in enforcing the Constitution and preventing abuse of power. But unfortunately, these guardrails have lost their effectiveness.  

Our federal court system, designed to uphold the constitution, is failing. In the aftermath of a Supreme Court ruling that expands presidential immunity the Trump administration has asserted he has “unrestricted power” through actions such as firing heads of independent agencies, prosecuting private entities that continue their DEI programs and initiatives, and withholding congressionally appropriated funds.  

While federal courts continue to block President Trump’s efforts to seize new extra-constitutional powers, the Trump administration seems on the verge of disregarding these court orders altogether. “Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power,” Vice President JD Vance posted on social media on Feb. 9. Trump called a recent ruling blocking Elon Musk from accessing the Treasury’s payment systems a “crazy” ruling. “No judge should frankly be allowed to make that kind of a decision, it’s a disgrace,” he said. The suggestion that courts cannot draw legal boundaries for a presidential administration is not only a betrayal of one of our nation’s most fundamental principles, but also a radically unpopular idea. The view that presidents must comply with court orders is widely shared today by virtually everyone — left, right and center. Yet, a federal judge recently held that the administration had failed to fully comply with its order enjoining Trump’s federal funding freeze. 

While the Judiciary’s power is failing, we do have one other branch of government designed to check the power of the Executive. Congress has the constitutional duty of oversight of the Executive Branch – congressional committees are given subpoena authorities and may launch investigations into the actions of the Executive branch. Congress also has the “power of the purse” which means that Congress, and only Congress, has the power to disburse and withhold funds for federal agencies and the administration. Congress may allow the president discretion regarding how to implement the programs for which it appropriates money, but a president cannot decide whether to implement them. In other words, once Congress decides to spend money, the president cannot unilaterally substitute his judgment for that of Congress.  

President Trump implementing the federal funding freeze, and defunding certain federal agencies, as well as freezing the implementation of certain federal programs, is in direct violation of Congressional power. 

Yet, Congress is also failing. While millions of Americans pack town halls across the country, elected officials are literally walking out of their own town halls rather than answering to the American people. Unfortunately, due to mass amounts of gerrymandering across the country, national voter suppression, and the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC that increased the flow of cash to political campaigns, the ultra-wealthy and corporations have a lot more power to determine who is elected than most American voters. And those candidates who win are then much more likely to listen to the pocketbook rather than the people.  

Some might dismiss Trump’s social media quotations of Napoleon or the official White House’s X account posting of an image of Trump wearing a crown, titled “Long Live the King”. But there is nothing playful in the conduct of this administration, and how it has in many ways aligned itself toward authoritarianism. 

So what happens when the President conducts illegal and unconstitutional acts to consolidate power, aligns himself with the great authoritarians of the day, and there seems to be nothing stopping him? We, the people, must stand firm, and unite to protect our democracy.  

The American people, by casting their vote, chose President Trump as their President. And so when President Trump fails to live up to his duty as president to protect the constitution, it is the American people who have the power to stop him. We can call on Congress to provide proper oversight of the administration, we can file lawsuits, and when that doesn’t work, we can take to the streets. We can boycott billionaires and corporations. We have the tools needed for change.

Now is the time to use these tools to assert the leverage and power we have as citizens and voters. Call on your members of Congress to demand they hold the administration accountable and defend our democracy.  Use the Justice and Peace Action Network to easily send and share messages to Congress and follow along using the UCC DC Office’s “First 100 Day Response” website to see how we are responding to this Administration in various ways as the United Church of Christ.  Join us! There is room for everyone.