The Constitution created three co-equal branches of government to maintain a system of checks and balances on the power of each branch. The Trump Administration has regularly threatened this system by ignoring Congressional direction and judicial orders.
Administration Action | Why does this violate the Constitution? | Notes |
---|---|---|
Signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, despite this agency being established by Congress. | It would take an act of Congress to eliminate the Department. | |
Deported a Rhode Island doctor with a valid visa despite a court order that she not be removed until a hearing be held. | The Constitution does not allow the president to defy court orders. | |
On March 15, 2025, President Trump ordered the arrest and deportation of hundreds of people residing in the U.S., arguing that they were members of a violent Venezuelan gang. Before the planes carrying these deportees landed, a federal judge ordered that the planes be turned around because the Administration had failed to respect the individuals’ due process and provide a hearing. Government officials ignored these orders and allowed the planes to continue their flight. | The Constitution does not allow the president to defy court orders. | |
Ordered the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to update the national voter registration forms to include a proof of citizenship requirement. | This is a governing body created by Congress and it is likely illegal for the president to give it orders or for the Commission to make the changes he is suggesting. | |
Ordered that the Department of Homeland Security rescind the Temporary Protected Status for Haitian migrants months earlier than Congress specified. | The president cannot ignore laws passed by Congress. | |
Ordered the suspension of asylum access at the southern border. | A federal judge halted the action, clarifying that there is nothing in statute or the Constitution that gives the president the “an extra-statutory, extra-regulatory regime for repatriating or removing individuals from the United States, without an opportunity to apply for asylum.” |