Americans can struggle to grasp the reasoning behind the writings of the Founding Fathers after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which is celebrated this weekend. The debates about individual rights and the roles of state and national government in the Federalist Papers, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights can seem hazy in textbooks or lecture halls.
No such trouble now, as President Donald Trump’s authoritarian decision-making, Congress’ silence and the mixed decisions by the Supreme Court are providing real-time examples of the nation’s extraordinary foundations. The actions and inactions should be fodder for debates in classrooms and on street corners, a reminder of the strengths of the American experiment that we believe the country will eventually return to.
This week, the Supreme Court affirmed birthright citizenship, which Trump had hoped would end and reduce immigration numbers. Added to the Constitution originally to provide for those who had been enslaved and their offspring, it will continue. Days earlier, the court said yes to the president’s ability to remove independent federal agency members without cause if their participation wasn’t in line with the direction he was taking the country (the exception was members of the Federal Reserve, as the court clarified in a case involving Lisa Cook). Those members had been confirmed by the Senate and could only be removed for neglect of duty or malfeasance. The “unitary theory of the executive” in the Constitution was the court’s justification.
Previous presidents have taken the country to war without much consultation with Congress, as the Constitution requires, but using the U.S. military to obliterate the occupants of a couple dozen fast boats at sea ostensibly transporting drugs without consultation or reporting is a new extreme. That’s murder, some critics say.
Of greater significance is the president’s desire to replace states’ control of national elections with the federal government, despite no demonstrated need to change the current system. Gone would be mail-in balloting and the receipt of any ballots after Election Day, and the voter would have to appear on the national OK-to-vote list. The Supreme Court also ruled that states may count late-arriving postal ballots if they were postmarked by Election Day, rejecting the administration’s push to block the practice. It’s not hard to believe the president wants only his supporters to be able to vote.
Then there’s the question of personal enrichment. This president’s overseas initiatives include components that enrich his family members. A share of mineral extraction, capital for a crypto company, the green light for a resort development – all in exchange for U.S. support and funding. Threatening to link weapons support for Ukraine to tarring a Joe Biden family member, for which Trump was impeached by the House, seems so long ago; we soon learned it was only the beginning.
What do the founding documents say about preventing the president from enriching himself? Read the Domestic Emoluments Clause and the Foreign Emoluments Clause. Was it expected subsequent presidents would be as restrained as George Washington?
And how can Congress, both houses, repeatedly acquiesce to the president’s lead in so many areas? He has refused to spend money that Congress has authorized and is spending money that it hasn’t. There has been little mention of the country’s debt, now approaching $40 trillion – about $3.2 trillion higher than when Trump took office – and funding is at the core of Congress’ responsibilities. One of the three branches of government is not exercising its constitutional role.
Habeas corpus is a defendant’s right to hear from a judge what they are accused of. Seizing someone off the street because of their skin color or the language they’re speaking and then holding them without notice is illegal and not supposed to happen. The Constitution, again.
The list could go on. Some of what is taking place now may endure in practice, but the country’s foundations of individual rights, an engaged Congress and an independent, honest judiciary remain strong enough to withstand it. What is taking place now is an example of what this country is not. Debate these issues to better understand what the Founding Fathers included in their work.
