Last updated: July 16, 2026. This page lists the most egregious violations. See also additional separation of powers violations.
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.
| Date | Administration Action | Why does this violate the Constitution? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 2025 | Fired Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission, National Labor Relations Board, Merit Systems Protection Board, Consumer Product Safety Commission, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission without the statutory “cause” (inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance) their governing statutes require. | Each removal violated the plain text of for-cause removal statutes then in force, and district courts repeatedly ordered reinstatement. The Supreme Court stayed those orders on its emergency docket, with Justice Kagan dissenting that the Court “uses its emergency docket to destroy the independence of an independent agency, as established by Congress.” | In June 2026, the Supreme Court overruled its 90-year-old precedent protecting independent agencies (Humphrey’s Executor), retroactively validating at-will removal at the FTC and similar agencies — but the firings violated the statutes as written when they were made. |
| March 2025 | Signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education, despite this agency being established by Congress, and moved to fire roughly half its staff. | It would take an act of Congress to eliminate the Department. | In July 2025, the Supreme Court allowed the mass layoffs to proceed without explanation while litigation continues. Justice Sotomayor, dissenting with Justices Kagan and Jackson, wrote: “It hands the Executive the power to repeal statutes by firing all those necessary to carry them out… the threat to our Constitution’s separation of powers is grave.” In November 2025, the department signed agreements transferring core statutory programs — including the $18.4 billion Title I program — to other agencies Congress never authorized to run them; 20+ states are challenging the transfers. |
| March 2025 | 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. The judge found probable cause that officials committed criminal contempt by ignoring his order. | In April 2026, two appeals court judges ordered the contempt inquiry terminated entirely — the fourth time the panel blocked it — leaving the defiance of the court order without consequence; further review is expected. A federal appeals court separately ruled the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act itself unlawful (see the Fifth Amendment page). |
| April 2025 | Imposed sweeping tariffs on nearly every U.S. trading partner — taxes on Americans estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars — citing the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a sanctions statute that mentions neither tariffs nor duties. | Article I gives Congress, not the president, the power to impose taxes and tariffs. In February 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that the statute does not authorize presidential tariffs, striking them down, with refund exposure estimated at up to $175 billion. | The administration terminated the tariffs after the ruling, partially re-imposing some under statutes that do delegate limited tariff authority. |
| August 2025 | Attempted to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over unproven mortgage-fraud allegations she denies — the first attempted removal of a Fed governor in the central bank’s 112-year history — after months of demanding interest rate cuts. | The Federal Reserve Act permits removal only “for cause.” Lower courts blocked the removal, and in June 2026 the Supreme Court ruled 5–4 that the firing was unlawful because Cook was denied the notice and opportunity to respond that due process and the statute require. | The allegations were referred by a Trump-appointed regulator who lodged similar mortgage referrals against other prominent critics of the president. The Court’s same-day ruling ending independent-agency protections expressly did not extend to the Fed. |
| September 2025 | Ordered more than 35 military strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing an estimated 80–100+ people without capture attempts, judicial process, or congressional authorization — including a reported “double-tap” second strike on survivors. | No declaration of war or authorization for the use of military force covers these hostilities, and the administration disregarded the War Powers Resolution’s 60-day clock. Legal experts and UN human rights experts characterized the killings as extrajudicial executions. | A bipartisan war powers resolution failed 51–48 in October 2025. The “double-tap” strike is under congressional investigation as a possible war crime. |
| January 2026 | Launched “Operation Absolute Resolve”: U.S. forces bombed infrastructure across northern Venezuela while a strike force captured President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas — without notifying Congress in advance, let alone seeking authorization. | Article I gives Congress the power to declare war. Legal analysis concluded the operation “clearly crosses the threshold for requiring congressional authorization” even under the executive branch’s own most expansive precedents, and indisputably constitutes “hostilities” under the War Powers Resolution. | International-law experts also questioned the operation’s legality under the UN Charter. |
| February 2026 | Opened a war with Iran: joint U.S.–Israeli airstrikes killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials, beginning sustained hostilities with Iran and its allies. Congressional leaders were notified only shortly before launch; no authorization was sought. | Article I, Section 8 gives Congress alone the power to declare war. Members of both parties introduced war powers resolutions calling the strikes “acts of war unauthorized by Congress,” and the Congressional Research Service documented the absence of any statutory authorization. | This followed the June 2025 strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, also carried out without congressional authorization (see the additional actions page). |