5 Extremely Outrageous Things Trump Is Doing to Destroy the US Constitution
The gravity and extent of the damage being done to our constitutionally-guaranteed rights and freedoms by this administration is mind-boggling, says constitutional law professor Kim Wehle.
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Following Democrats’ sweeping victories at the polls this month, hope has emerged that the tide may finally be turning against Donald Trump and his GOP enablers, foretelling an even bigger “bluenami” at next year’s midterms. That hope grew when the Supreme Court signaled during oral arguments last week that Trump might not win his bid to wrest the tariff power from Congress.
Meanwhile, Republican senators snubbed Trump’s plea to kill the filibuster as a means of ending the government shutdown, which could be read as a rare sign that his grip on the GOP is softening. And although it was eight senators who, in breaking with the Democratic caucus and caving to Republican stonewalling, ultimately ended the shutdown, the government’s reopening meant that House Speaker Mike Johnson had to finally swear in Democrat Adelita Grijalva, more than seven weeks after she won a special election in Arizona. Her signature tees up a House vote on a resolution forcing the release of the Epstein files, which is the one and only issue to have had meaningful political traction against Trump, ever.
If this string of “good” news means that more people feel encouraged and emboldened to step up to help salvage what’s left of American democracy, then historians might one day look back on this period as a fever break. But it’s far too premature for such an assessment. When it comes to the US Constitution, the gravity of the damage is mind-boggling, if not permanent.
Here’s a list of the top five hits to our founding document:
1. What First Amendment?
Trump has gotten away with suspending the First Amendment. The swiftness with which this one fell is truly jaw-dropping.