Thread by @JewhadiTM

Biased federal judges — not Trump's agenda — are the real threat to our constitutional order

Federal judges refuse to let Trump exercise the same powers as past presidents — not because he's flouting the law, but because they don't like him.

usatoday.com/story/opinion/…

There has been a lot of careless commentary about the alleged threat that President Donald Trump poses to the constitutional order, that he is a budding despot.

During his nearly two years in office, Trump has occasionally attempted to stretch presidential powers, such as his promised executive order to abolish birthright citizenship. However, no more so than did President Barack Obama, and arguably considerably less so.

So far, however, Trump has accepted the checks on his ability to act imposed by Congress and the courts. He has operated within the constitutional order.

In fact, the greatest threat to the constitutional order during his tenure has actually come from the federal bench. Judges have relegated Trump to being a second-class president.

Because the judges disapprove of Trump’s character and behavior, they hold that he cannot exercise the authority that the constitution and federal law grant to his office.

Example: The Trump administration rescinded DACA. The Ninth Circuit found that what Obama could create by executive action Trump cannot undo by executive action.

A concurring opinion, by Judge John Owens, agrees that the Trump administration is barred from rescinding DACA, but not for the pettifogging reasons. According to him, Trump and his administration have exhibited “racial animus” and thus cannot take this action.

In a footnote, the other two judges on the panel write: “We do not disagree with the reasoning of Judge Owen’s concurring opinion.”

In other words, it would not matter what process the Trump administration used or what reasons it cited.

According to the judges, Trump is a bigot and therefore cannot be permitted to take action another president would be permitted to take.

This is the same rationale federal judges used to strike down Trump’s travel bans on immigration from some countries.

In this case, there is an explicit statute granting the president, any president, the authority to ban any foreigner, or any group or class of foreigners, from entry to the United States for whatever reason the president deems it advisable.

The judges again found that Trump could not be permitted to do what any other president could do because they determined that he was a bigot. The U.S. Supreme Court put an end to such psychoanalysis from the bench and let most of the travel ban go into effect.

The American people elected Donald Trump president.

He is the president. Under our constitutional order, he has the right to exercise the same authority over the same things as anyone else whom the American people choose to entrust with that position.