Stories

The administration faced 650+ lawsuits and repeatedly defied court orders on funding freezes, deportations, and agency actions. Trump attacked judges, called for impeachment of federal judges, and the Supreme Court issued landmark rulings on tariff authority, birthright citizenship, and presidential power over independent agencies.

Instances of Trump using presidential authority to interfere with independent institutions, international organisations, legal proceedings, or other bodies outside the accepted scope of executive power.

Trump's systematic campaign against independent media, including banning journalists from the White House press pool, launching defamation lawsuits against major outlets, directing the FCC to threaten broadcast licences, defunding public broadcasters NPR and PBS, revoking protections for reporters' phone records, and subpoenaing journalists before federal grand juries.

Trump pushed the SAVE America Act requiring proof of citizenship, signed executive orders restricting mail-in voting, demanded voter data from states, deployed FBI to raid election offices in Georgia, installed election deniers in key positions, and pressured states to redraw congressional maps favorable to Republicans ahead of midterms.

Trump deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, Washington DC, and Memphis for immigration enforcement and crime, over objections of governors and mayors. Courts repeatedly blocked deployments as illegal, the Supreme Court blocked the Chicago deployment, and the Minneapolis operation ended after two citizens were killed by federal agents.

Republican lawmakers have repeatedly declined to exercise congressional oversight over the Trump administration — confirming controversial nominees without scrutiny, blocking war powers resolutions, remaining silent on constitutional violations, and allowing executive overreach to go unchecked. Members who broke ranks were removed via Trump-backed primary challenges, entrenching a culture of compliance over constitutional responsibility.

Trump fired or lost multiple cabinet members including AG Bondi, DHS Secretary Noem, Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer, DNI Gabbard, inspectors general, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics chief. He cycled through acting officials, appointed loyalists without Senate confirmation, and faced court rulings declaring several appointments unlawful.

Trump repeatedly attacked Fed Chair Powell, opened a criminal investigation into him, attempted to fire Governor Lisa Cook, nominated loyalist Kevin Warsh as replacement chair, and pressured the Fed on interest rates. Multiple courts blocked the Cook firing, and 12 international central bank governors issued solidarity statements.

Trump began his second term with the lowest opening approval rating of any modern president and has seen it fall further ever since. Record disapproval ratings, driven by tariff-fuelled cost of living concerns, immigration enforcement backlash, and general dissatisfaction with his priorities, have left him deeply underwater heading into the midterms — with even a fifth of his 2024 voters considering abandoning the Republican Party.

Trump has treated false claims as a governing constant — spreading conspiracy theories on social media, presenting debunked 'white genocide' evidence at White House meetings, and using unfounded voter fraud claims to justify FBI raids on Democratic election offices and executive orders restricting ballot access. His administration shuttered the State Department's foreign disinformation office, directed consular officials to deny visas to factcheckers and content moderators, and opened federal investigations based on debunked election conspiracy theories.

Trump signed a Day 1 executive order to end birthright citizenship for children of non-citizens. Multiple federal courts blocked the order as unconstitutional, appeals courts upheld the blocks, and the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, with oral arguments showing judicial skepticism toward the administration's position.

Mass protest movements emerged opposing Trump's policies, growing from initial 'Hands Off' rallies to 'No Kings' demonstrations that drew millions. The third No Kings protest on Day 434 attracted approximately 8 million participants across all 50 states, becoming the largest single-day protest in US history.

A pattern of violent threats and attacks targeting Trump and prominent MAGA figures — including two assassination attempts on Trump in 2024, the 2026 White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting, a far-right plot at a UFC event, Iranian assassination threats, and the killing of Trump ally Charlie Kirk. The administration has used these incidents to blame political opponents and, in Vance's case, encourage online harassment of those who celebrated Kirk's death.

Trump signed executive orders targeting law firms including Paul Weiss, Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, and Susman Godfrey for representing clients opposing his interests. Firms were pressured into settlements providing hundreds of millions in pro bono work. Courts blocked most orders as unconstitutional.

Recurring questions about the 79-year-old president's physical and cognitive fitness, including four hospital visits in his second term, a diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency, reports of falling asleep in public meetings, contradictory accounts of medical scans, and multiple calls from Democrats and former officials to invoke the 25th Amendment.