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When Donald Trump gave his State of the Union Address recently, one of the commentators naively noted that it was an unorthodox speech in that the President did not lay out a legislative agenda. That misguided expert missed the significance of the very point he had raised—this President has no legislative agenda. Why? Because he has no need for the legislature. His is a government run by decree, a country ruled by executive order, a system determined by pronouncements from the throne.
This state of affairs for the Congress made me think of the Maytag washing machine TV ads of many years ago. Attempting to emphasize the reliability of their washers, it featured the Maytag repair man sitting home alone, bored and lonely because nobody ever had occasion to call upon him. But that is exactly the state of today’s Congress, with Senators and Representatives not having much to do–other than offer the occasional public statement of complaint if a Democrat, or making a quick trip into town to rubber stamp some action of Trump that just happened to need formal approval of Congress. The closest thing that comes to heavy lifting for Republican “lawmakers” these days is to memorize prepared lines of support such as, “American consumers agree that these tariffs will benefit them in the long run” or “Oh, I hadn’t noticed that the price of eggs was up,” or “Yes, I was just telling myself the other day that it might be a good idea to buy a Tesla.”
What all of this signals is that soon enough we will face a day of reckoning. The political game is already clear and well set in motion. Donald Trump makes one arbitrary and clearly unconstitutional policy after another. He fires thousands upon thousands of workers arbitrarily. He tells Columbia University what it can and cannot do. He blocks funding for USAID. He provides DOGE with unlimited access to sensitive data. The list goes on and on. Pick any domain that is consistent with democratic principles, and Trump et al have trampled upon it.
The rules of the game: Those affected take their only recourse and run to the courts. The courts listen, and in most cases, rule against Trump, finding that this policy or that runs counter to the Constitution. Cease and desist orders are issued, which temporarily block Trump’s draconian ways, only to be appealed up the judicial ladder.
But you see, of course, where this is going. Sooner or later, and every week it looks like sooner, these cases will reach Diana Ross and the Supremes—well, actually John Roberts and the Supremes. The Justices will listen carefully, question both sides, and retire to offer decisions with momentous impact. This leaves me with one thought that I would label as scary, and a second for which scary would be a gargantuan understatement.
Scary: The fate of our constitutional democracy will be determined by the wisdom, or more likely the whims, of Justices Roberts, Barrett, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh. Their votes will determine which way the majority opinion goes. Their votes will determine whether Trump is granted the right to run rampant over the Constitution.
Ah, but scarier to the tenth power: Trump and his enablers disregard the court after they receive unfavorable verdicts. They tell us that the courts cannot and should not tell the executive what he can or cannot do. “After all,” says the Grand Potentate, “not a single one of them was elected. I am the person that millions chose to lead them, not some batch of losers in black robes. Or you know what,” says his Trumpness, “I’m a reasonable man. I’ll agree to do whatever they say as long as they follow the rules of a regular trial. You know, in most courts you need a unanimous decision, not just a mixed vote. So, I’ll be glad to obey any unanimous decision of the Supreme Court.”
And as he says so, 80 million bucks gets transferred quickly and quietly into the offshore bank account of one Ginni Thomas.
