As president, Donald Trump has done great damage to our constitutional structure of government. have a finger in the pie Using the independence of the Department of Justice to avoid constitutional confirmation by the Senate, Presidential Appointment Or detour Parliamentary Powers By misappropriating funds, Trump has made it painfully clear that what we think of as the guardrails of democracy are often just white lines painted on the road.
And if Trump wins in November, Republicans will be able to buy the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 Blueprint It would do further damage and turn the presidency into a de facto dictatorship.
This is largely President Biden’s fault. When he was elected, his first priority should have been to fix everything Trump broke. But… A modest fix The electoral count law, he Almost nothingAnd he initially Lukewarm And about bipartisan reform.
It’s still early days, but Kamala Harris is tipped to succeed Biden. Official Democratic Candidate As he heads into the 2024 presidential election, Trump seems to be taking the need to protect American democracy more seriously. While it is good to highlight the dangers of Project 2025, he would be better off proposing reforms to prevent autocrats from toppling his regime.
Welcome to Democracy 2026.
of 250th Anniversary A milestone in the American experiment comes in 2026, and what better way to celebrate than by revamping our system of checks and balances to ensure that American democracy lasts for another 250 years.
In fact, we have become sloppy. Congress is not a “government by laws and not by men” but is slowly He handed power over to the president.But with the understanding that these powers will only be used wisely and with restraint. That may have been a good bet once, but it’s not now, and it’s past time for us to do something about it.
There is a lot we can do, and Democracy 2026 includes a wide range of commonsense, bipartisan reforms, many of which are not even controversial.
For example, longstanding Justice Department policy and Prevent Prevent a sitting president from being indicted, Federal Law The statute of limitations would give the president immunity from law enforcement for crimes committed before he took office. This is a legal accident that nobody thinks is a good idea. This is an easy legislative fix (it literally takes one line), but it would still require a president willing to put in the time and care required to get it through Congress.
Some amendments are similarly uncontroversial but would require a constitutional amendment. Most people do not support a presidential system. Self-AbsolutionPeople on both sides of Congress are concerned about the Supreme Court’s recent decisions granting broad immunity to the President from prosecution. Developing a constitutional amendment to address these two issues will require continued attention and much debate, but it is precisely the kind of debate that strengthens our personal commitment to democracy. Debating this amendment in each state would be a healthy exercise in self-governance. There is no better way to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary.
The list goes on and on. Congress’ subpoena power is Clarified and enhancedThe National Emergencies Act strengthens the powers of the President during a national emergency. UpdatedVacancies laws need to be strengthened. Protection of civil servants Needs to be strengthened parable, Hatch Method and Remuneration clause It needs to be upgraded to meet the realities of the 21st century. This is just one example. There is still much more to be done.
But for this to happen, the president must take responsibility for the reforms. Of course, it would be much easier for President Harris to make the reforms if Democrats controlled Congress. But a zealous president could get many of the reforms passed regardless of who runs the House and Senate. Even the most partisan Republicans would be sympathetic to a Democratic president willing to limit their own power.
Hopefully, Harris will understand this and Democracy 2026 will be one of the outstanding legacies of her presidency, because we cannot keep rolling the dice on democracy every four years. If Joe Biden had invested some political capital in rebuilding America’s democratic and physical infrastructure, the threat posed by Project 2025 would have been less severe. But he did not, and now we are facing the consequences.
A Harris victory may oust Donald Trump, but the next Authoritarian Something new will emerge – smarter, smoother, more organized – and we need to be ready.
Chris TrucksHe is an appellate lawyer who served as Southern California chairman for John McCain’s 2008 primary campaign.
