What if Trump Just Ignores the Courts?

What if Trump Just Ignores the Courts?

Quinta Jurecic discusses the potential ‘constitutional crisis’ the Trump administration could trigger.

This is an edited transcript of an episode of “The Ezra Klein Show.” You can listen to the conversation by following or subscribing to the show on the NYT Audio App, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.

I think we’re beginning to move into the next phase of this Donald Trump term. Remember what Yuval Levin said in our episode last week? There’s a rhythm to the presidency. Presidents begin their terms by unleashing their plans. For weeks and maybe months, the world is responding to them. They set the pace of events.

But soon, because they have exhausted what they can do unilaterally, or because they begin facing events and actors they do not control, or because the very things they have done begin creating uncontrollable backlash, they must begin responding to the world.

Donald Trump’s second term began at — remember Steve Bannon’s term here — “muzzle velocity.” They acted, and the world watched, its mouth agape. But actions create reactions, and we’re beginning to see them and to see how the Trump administration responds to those reactions.

Trump delayed his tariffs after markets shuddered. So far, we are not seeing mass deportations. We’re seeing immigration arrests running at roughly Obama-era levels, but being marketed and conducted with a gleeful cruelty.

And we are now seeing the courts respond. The Trump administration has seen one after another of its most aggressive acts frozen by judges, at least for now: The executive order ending birthright citizenship — frozen. The Office of Management and Budget spending freeze — rescinded and frozen. Transferring transgender female prisoners to male-only prisons — frozen. The Department of Government Efficiency’s access to the Treasury payments system — frozen. The buyout of federal workers — frozen. The destruction of U.S.A.I.D. — frozen.