One year into Donald Trump’s second term, a systematic pattern has emerged: Trump is dismantling institutions designed to check presidential power and protect Americans’ rights. He has deployed military force without authorization, defied judicial orders, weaponized federal law enforcement against critics, and bypassed Congress on major economic decisions.
The result is a two-tier system of justice where allies receive protection while opponents face prosecution, where constitutional protections erode for ordinary Americans, and where the president enriches himself while imposing costs on working families.
This memo documents Trump’s first year back in office across five key areas of constitutional concern.
Weaponizing Federal Government Against Political Opponents
The Trump administration has systematically used federal law enforcement and regulatory powers to target political opponents, critics, and institutions that challenge presidential authority.
Weaponizing the Justice Department Against Government Officials
- Trump’s Justice Department has pursued baseless criminal charges against James Comey and Leticia James, both of whom have led investigations of Trump.
- Under Trump, the Department of Justice threatened Federal Reserve officials with criminal indictments in what Federal Reserve officials described as an attempt to influence monetary policy as Trump seeks to lower interest rates that the Fed normally determines independently.
Weaponizing Federal Authority Against Law Firms
- Trump issued executive orders suspending security clearances, banning federal contracts, and threatening investigations against several major law firms.
- The targeted law firms had previously represented positions adverse to the administration or to Trump personally.
Targeting Universities to Force Political Alignment
- Trump has threatened federal funding to universities and restricted admissions of international students in an attempt to force university administrations to align their policy with his political agenda.
Threatening Media Outlets Over Negative Coverage
- Trump has repeatedly threatened TV news networks with the revocation of their broadcast licenses over negative coverage of his administration.
Deploying Military Force Without Authorization
The administration has deployed military forces domestically over the objections of elected officials and launched military operations abroad without congressional authorization.
Deploying National Guard Over Governors’ Opposition
- For the first time since 1960, the president has activated National Guard troops without a governor’s consent.
- The deployments occurred despite repeated statements from city mayors and state governors that the deployments are unnecessary and unwanted.
- The deployments have mostly focused on jurisdictions led by Democrats, including Texas National Guard members sent to Chicago.
Unauthorized Strikes and War Crimes
- The Trump administration has carried out a months-long campaign of airstrikes against vessels in the Caribbean sea, despite showing no evidence that the vessels posed any threat to the United States.
- Evidence suggests that American forces committed war crimes as part of the strikes, disguising military planes as civilian aircraft and launching second strikes against survivors clinging to wreckage.
- The strikes culminated in a raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, an act of war that received no approval from Congress.
Attacking Judges and Defying Court Orders
The administration has personally attacked judges who rule against them and encouraged officials to ignore judicial orders, undermining the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law.
Trump’s Personal Attacks on Judges
- Trump has called judges that ruled against him “monsters” that hate the United States.
- Trump called for a federal judge that ruled against him to be impeached.
- Administration officials like Vice President JD Vance and Attorney General Pam Bondi have piled on with harsh rhetoric and accusations.
Plans to Ignore Court Orders
- A longtime government lawyer said Trump DOJ leaders “planned to knowingly defy court orders and withhold information from judges to advance the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation goals.”
- Trump’s Solicitor General, D. John Sauer, refused to rule out ignoring court orders in certain instances.
Immigration Enforcement Targeting Citizens and Protected Speech
Immigration enforcement operations have detained American citizens, deported individuals to abusive prisons, and targeted people based on their constitutionally protected speech and protest activity.
Deportations to Abusive El Salvador Prison
- Trump deported hundreds of migrants to be held indefinitely without trial at CECOT, a Salvadoran prison known for human rights abuses including torture.
- Many of the deportees had no criminal charges or convictions in either country.
- At least one individual, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, was acknowledged by the administration to have been deported due to an “administrative error.”
American Citizens Detained and Deported
- Border czar Tom Homan admitted that immigration raids have detained “many” American citizens.
- American citizen children have been deported alongside their non-citizen parents.
- Despite repeated recommendations, the government does not even track how many American citizens are detained in immigration operations.
Targeting Protected Speech and Protest Activity
- Rümeysa Öztürk was detained for writing an op-ed critical of her university’s support for Israel.
- Yunseo Chung was arrested and put into deportation proceedings for participating in anti-Israel protests.
- A federal judge found that a policy of detaining and deporting pro-Palestinian academics was “intentionally” designed to suppress their speech.
Executive Order Attempting to End Birthright Citizenship
- The Constitution has granted citizenship to anyone born in the United States since 1868.
- One of Trump’s first actions after assuming office was the issuance of an executive order that claimed to deny citizenship to some Americans based on the legal status of their parents.
Bypassing Congress on Economic and Spending Decisions
The administration has imposed major economic policies and authorized massive spending projects without congressional approval, circumventing the legislative branch’s constitutional authority over taxation and federal expenditures.
Imposing Tariffs Without Congressional Approval
- Trump has implemented the highest levels of import duties in a century, which have raised costs for consumers and slowed economic growth.
- Trump’s tariffs are taxes paid by American consumers, but rather than being imposed by Congress like most taxes, Trump has claimed the authority to levy these taxes unilaterally using emergency powers.
Demolishing White House East Wing Without Required Approvals
- Without seeking approval from the bodies that oversee federal building construction or the preservation of historic landmarks, Trump demolished the entire East Wing of the White House.
- The demolition was to build a ballroom that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, funded by private donors seeking to curry favor with the administration.