(Editor’s note: Wes Holden, a student of history and now a freelance opinion writer. He worked with U. S. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D/WV) 30 years. His most recent opinion appeared Saturday in the Charleston, WV Gazette-Mail.)
We all saw it. First there was his post on Truth Social proclaiming “LONG LIVE THE KING” as Trump far exceeded his authority in proclaiming that he had ended congestion pricing in New York City. The White House press office circulated the message on other social media along with a faux Time Magazine cover of Trump wearing a crown against the Manhattan skyline. It’s clear he wants to be seen as a strongman, like Putin, Erdogan, Orban and other authoritarians buddies. He has even heaped praise on the stocky lad in North Korea. He has filled his administration with sycophants who will unquestionably bend the knee to his every command.
Trump clearly thinks he has broad authority to reshape the government as he sees fit. This is not a new perspective for the narcissistic megalomaniac. Back in 2019 he said: “I have an Article II, where I have the right to do whatever I want as president.” A primary goal is the complete politicization of the Executive Branch. He has installed oligarchs with conflicts to key Cabinet and advisory positions, their mission being the dismantling of troublesome federal agencies. This reshaping, which is well underway, is fully consistent with the Project 2025 agenda. Several of its architects hold key administration posts, including the Director of the White House Budget Office. Underpinning Trump’s claim of unbridled authority is the bogus Unitary Executive Theory.
The Unitary Executive Theory asserts that the President has unlimited power to direct the actions of the Executive Branch, including the imposition of his or her will on agency decisions. It emerged from the fringes of legal theory in the late 20th century as Republican Presidents pushed for more power, either to save their own skin (Nixon) or, in the case of Reagan and George Bush, to implement illegal military actions. Its implementation will be particularly damaging to the informed work of regulatory agencies, whose knowledgeable and prudent decisions could be prevented or overruled without just cause. This would constitute a clear usurpation of the powers of Congress and a violation of the trust of the American people.
Most legal scholars agree that the Unitary Executive Theory represents a distorted view of what the founding fathers intended in Article II of the Constitution. The framers were cautious about creating a strong, unchecked executive branch and, to limit executive authority, adopted a system of checks and balances they felt was essential for a functioning democracy. According to James Madison in his Federalist Papers, “The accumulation of all powers – legislative, executive and judiciary – in the same hands . . . may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny”. Unfortunately, the few legal analysts who do support the theory include what appears to be a majority on the Supreme Court.
In its rulings over the past two decades, the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Roberts has strongly embraced the Unitary Executive Theory, issuing several rulings that greatly broaden the President’s authority over federal government operations. In 2010 and again in 2020, the Court handed the President the authority to fire executive agency directors and board members without cause. Last year, they issued a ruling that significantly impacts the authority of federal regulatory agencies to interpret statutes. That task that now rests with unaccountable and poorly informed judges. And last July, in their most politicized decision in decades, the Court found Trump immune from criminal law for any “official” actions. As a result, Trump feels invincible, unaccountable, and fully prepared to implement the Project 2025 agenda without legal or moral limits.
The Project 2205 strategy is to move forward in a blitzkrieg-like manner, taking as many actions as quickly as possible with little concern about defending them in court. Accordingly, Trump’s has issued a large spate of Executive Orders, many clearly illegal and in violation of both the Constitution and court precedent. He has fired thousands of agency workers indiscriminately and without cause. One clear intent of these mass firings is to further destroy regulatory agency enforcement of business activities. Another is to strike fear in the hearts of all federal employees. Recent IRS firings are designed to ensure that the resources needed to fully evaluate complex returns from the superrich will not be available. His attempt to control all federal spending includes freezing program and grant money already appropriated. While Trump is unabashedly usurping the authority of Congress, he will get no grief from that body, where he really is king. Through these attacks on democracy, Trump is exceeding what even some supporters of a “unitary executive” believe is constitutional.
Responding to this plethora of illegal actions will be time consuming. By then, many Project 2025 plan components will long have had their designed effects, many practically irreversible. The most important of these test cases will reach the unitary executive-friendly Supreme Court, where overturning of long-standing precedents is routine. Trump is essentially legislating through the courts, daring his opponents to challenge him.
So far, the lower courts have pretty consistently ruled against Trump’s executive orders and related actions. But what happens if Trump defies court orders? He has apparently already ignored one federal judge’s order to release billions in federal grants and has disregarded the Supreme Court decision upholding federal law requiring TikTok to be sold or banned. Since he cannot be held to account for crimes officially related to his role as President, what’s to stop him from continuing to ignore the courts, thereby initiating a constitutional crisis. VP Vance recently voiced the regime’s strategy, stating:” When the courts stop you, stand before the country like Andrew Jackson did and say, ‘The chief justice has made his ruling. Now let him enforce it.’”
So, who will stop Trump? Given the hopeless nature of both major political parties, the resistance must be grassroots in nature. We need to hold rallies and support grassroots organizations that are fighting back. We need to confront our “so-called” representatives at town halls, making sure that both they and the public understand the immoral and criminal conduct they are supporting. We need to use the mass media effectively, including participation in right-wing programming. All our citizens need to hear the truth of what is going on.
We need to make sure that those who voted for this callous, empathy-barren ass clown and his minions know what they are getting. The “conservative” House Republicans just passed a tax bill increasing the deficit by about $2.5 trillion while providing a tax windfall for the oligarchs and large corporations. The new House budget resolution mandating at least $880 billion in federal spending cuts over the next decade will end Medicaid and other vital social programs. Trump called it a “big, beautiful bill.” Trump’s rescinding of grants for renewable energy projects will impact businesses in many Red States. It’s hard to believe these and other Project 2025 actions could be very popular in rural America, where Trump won 92% of the counties.
Our Constitution is not perfect. The men who wrote and signed it knew that and included the amendment process to address needed changes. However, it was the outcome of a group of thoughtful and intelligent men who sought to create something new – a representative form of government that would avoid the tyranny they experienced under the authoritarian rule of British monarchs. As American citizens, we must not allow Trump, his oligarchs, and Project 2025 to win. The one thing all the founders agreed on it is NO MORE KINGS.