Not to mention the horrors depicted in this 900-page document, as well as the gravity of what President-elect Donald Trump can do with his newly enacted power to use official presidential powers to commit crimes with impunity. It's hard to overstate. project 2025 A transition plan to reorganize the federal government. Many Americans rightly fear the possibility of his revenge.
But it is impossible for Mr. Trump to turn this country into a dictatorship with a few pen strokes. Courts are still functioning in America. The vast federal bureaucracy is formidable. And the president does not control individual states.
The Supreme Court has a majority of far-right justices, but trump vs usa It created the Impunity Clause as an interpretation of Article 2 of the Constitution, but that clause only gives the president a limited list of powers.
The president is the supreme commander of the army, navy, and state militias when they are called into federal service, and can appoint federal officers. He can also “accept ambassadors and other ministers” and can pardon federal crimes. He can, with the advice and consent of the Senate, conclude treaties and appoint ambassadors, heads of government agencies, and Supreme Court justices. and he shall “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” However, that is an exception. Chief Justice John Robertsif he uses these powers to commit a crime, he will not be prosecuted.
However, it should be noted that the president's explicit constitutional powers are limited compared to the powers of Congress. his power Regarding diplomatic issues and immigration These powers come from, for example, Supreme Court case law that found these powers to be merely “implicit,” and they do not exist anywhere in the Constitution itself.
Nevertheless, the greatest threat Trump poses to the rule of law, democracy, and freedom lies in his power over the military and law enforcement. made by trump Over 100 threats to prosecute political opponents, Including President Biden. He said he himself should be “arrested for treason.” In his speech, he vowed to “appoint a true special counsel to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family.” (However, thanks to the Supreme Court, Biden will at least have presumptive immunity for all his actions as president.)
Advisors in Trump's first administration have since made public efforts to thwart the president's worst impulses. John Bolton, former national security adviser, said“The United States missed countless opportunities in President Trump's first term as senior officials inevitably focused on getting a few key policies off the ground.” I can't babysit.
However, several things need to happen before criminal charges can be initiated. The law, the facts, and the requirement that a grand jury or judicial officer (usually a magistrate) approve the government's proposed charges. At least for now, the federal courts still function faithfully to the rule of law and the Constitution (with some unfortunate exceptions, such as the Supreme Court majority in Trump v. United States).
Of course, regardless of whether there is actually probable cause for a crime, the Justice Department, beholden to President Trump, can ruin people's lives during the investigation stage. But the vast majority of rogue prosecutors acting at President Trump's whims — a relationship the Supreme Court has specifically shunned from oversight on the theory that instructions to the attorney general go beyond the scope of a criminal investigation. A federal judge in that case would block it.
But if President Trump hires a biased judge like Florida's Judge Eileen Cannon, who wrongfully dismissed a classified documents indictment, the Supreme Court will not weigh in on Trump's side again. may be overturned on appeal.
As for the military, non-commissioned officers take an oath Observe the Constitution and obey the orders of the President and superiors. However, those at the top simply take an oath to the Constitution. They are not required to obey the president or their superiors, and in fact have a sworn duty to reject illegal, criminal, and unconstitutional directives.
As of 2022the army had 372,244 officers. For President Trump to bring the military to the mercy of criminals, he will need to persuade many officers to break their oaths of adherence to the Constitution out of loyalty or fear. It is possible to pardon them in exchange for their crimes, but that carrot is unlikely to persuade many people who have dedicated their careers to public service and fidelity to the Constitution.
There is also a broader range of federal employees. In his last term, Trump invented what should have been. Known as “Schedule F.” That would make it possible to strip federal employees of civil service protections and replace them with private advocates. As part of the Project 2025 transition project, Team Trump will reinstate Schedule F, covering more than 50,000 career civil servants or converting them to at-will positions with no termination protection and, in some cases, collective bargaining. I vowed to ban it.
Of course, this gambit will be challenged in court, but even if Trump wins, the logistical nightmare of recruiting and training tens of thousands of federal employees is a daunting prospect, even if Even if it were, it's unlikely to happen anytime soon. During that time, approx. 2.93 million Federal employees scattered throughout the federal bureaucracy across hundreds of government agencies will continue to perform work on behalf of the American people, but the vast majority of them are law-abiding.
Finally, there are states where the president cannot govern. President Trump may not understand this part. stated incorrectly During the 2020 pandemic, the governor “cannot do anything without the approval of the President of the United States.” However, the Constitution gives narrow powers to the federal government, leaving the balance to the states under the Tenth Amendment. California Governor Gavin Newsom I already called They are calling for a special legislative session to protect the state from President Trump's promises of a nationwide abortion ban, mass deportations and selective disaster relief.
The threat Trump poses to the Constitution and American democracy is real, and it's here. But on January 20, 2025, he will no longer be a wizard or a king.
kimberly wale I'm the author of a new book “Pardon Power: How the Pardon System Works and Why”
