"Rewriting the Constitution, One Power Grab at a Time"

In Trump’s America, the idea of co-equal branches is just a nuisance. A relic. A technicality he’s been forced to endure.

It’s official. Yesterday the House voted; at the urging of President Trump, to rein in what he calls “rogue” federal judges by passing the No Rogue Rulings Act. You know, the ones who dared to uphold the Constitution. The same judges who had the gall to block his half-baked, legally questionable policies. His so-called justification? These judges are interfering with his ability to "run the country efficiently." Right. Because autocracy always runs more smoothly when there’s no one around to say, “Hey, maybe that’s illegal.”

Let’s not kid ourselves. This vote wasn’t just about reigning in the judiciary. It was a page ripped straight out of Trump’s own dystopian campaign playbook; the one where he’s made no secret of his desire to metaphorically (and perhaps even literally) rewrite the Constitution. He doesn’t want a co-equal judiciary. He doesn’t want legislative checks. What he wants; what he’s always wanted, is to be the only branch of government that matters. Executive über alles, that’s German for “over everything else”.

In Trump’s America, the idea of co-equal branches is just a nuisance. A relic. A technicality he’s been forced to endure. But now, emboldened by sycophants in the House and a base that cheers every authoritarian twitch, he’s moving to finish what he started. Today’s vote was about removing roadblocks. Tomorrow’s vote? That might just be about removing democracy altogether.

Now let’s be clear: every president faces legal resistance. Biden’s did with student loan forgiveness plan. Obama did with the ACA. Bush did. Even Reagan. That’s how our system is supposed to work. It’s called checks and balances; not "check your brain at the door and balance whatever the Dear Leader says.”

But Trump doesn’t do nuance. He doesn’t do balance. He does grievance. He does vengeance. He does power. When he says he wants to eliminate judicial review, he means it. When he says he wants to “terminate” the Constitution, that’s not hyperbole; it’s a promise. And if you’re not terrified, you’re not paying attention.

Need more evidence? Look no further than the chaos he and his economic Rasputin, Peter Navarro, unleashed on the global market with their asinine tariff policies. Billions in tariffs slapped on allies like Canada under the guise of “national security,” like maple syrup was the new WMD. The Senate, in a rare moment of sanity, passed a bipartisan bill to end the tariffs on Canada; put forth by Republican Rand Paul. But Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson has already begun to make moves to prevent any vote that would repeal Trump’s tariffs.

Why? Because Trump doesn’t want Congress to have that power either. He doesn’t just want the judiciary on a leash; he wants the legislative branch in a kennel. A bill was introduced to return tariff authority to Congress, where it constitutionally belongs. The bill would require the President to give Congress 48 hours’ notice of new tariffs and an explanation of their purpose, and also allow Congress to review tariffs and rescind them. Trump wants to block it. Johnson will try to bury it. The goal, is to prevent Trump from imposing tariffs on the world at will, causing global market chaos and the loss of trillions of dollars to American investors.

Let me be crystal clear; the tariff pause isn’t a win. It’s a stall. It’s slapping a Band-Aid on a gaping wound and calling it surgery. The economic uncertainty hasn’t ended; it’s just been delayed. And yet, the MAGA megaphone declared victory. As if losing only a trillion dollars, as opposed to seven trillion, counts as success in Trump’s America.

And why did this all come about? It came about from Trump’s lack of understanding of reciprocal trade. He actually believes that countries like Vietnam should be punished for not buying American-made goods. Has anyone told him that a pair of Nike sneakers manufactured for $3 in Hanoi isn’t exactly going to be traded for an F-16 fighter jet and some defense technology? This isn’t a trade deficit; it’s a logic deficit.

The idea that tariffs will force countries to start importing American goods is laughable; if you have the capacity for laughter left. But Trump isn’t trying to build a rational economic policy. He’s trying to build an empire of grievance, where every act of sabotage is framed as patriotic, every failed policy is recast as a masterstroke, and every loss; especially for his enemies, is his version of a win.

As Democrats beg for Republican help to stabilize the chaos, the response from Trumpworld has been clear: chaos is the goal. The judicial branch? Gutted. The legislative branch? Neutered. The executive? Crowned.

Trump doesn’t want to lead the government. He wants to be the government. And if this power grab passes the Senate; and let’s not pretend this is an impossibility, he just might get his wish.

The Constitution right now is on life support. And the man in control of the on/off switch is smiling.

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