The ‘unitary executive’ theory – backed by some conservative lawyers – is largely bogus. But it could wreak havoc on democracyWhile Democrats are dithering and debating with consultants about which anti-Trumpian strategy to adopt, courts are confronted with an unprecedented power grab by the president. Donald Trump and Elon Musk are simply not spending money appropriated by Congress, which in turn is unwilling to play its constitutional role and assert the power of the purse. Entire agencies are de facto dismantled – which is also unconstitutional – and civil servants protected from removal by a president keep getting pink slips.The illegality of it all seems so obvious that one would think defenders of democracy could relax and trust judges to do the right thing. But it’s not just that some judges seem to be in the president’s pocket – as evidenced by Trump, after his address to Congress, patting the supreme court’s chief justice on the back and thanking him for a favor he won’t fo...
According to Jan-Werner Müller in The Guardian, Donald Trump is concentrating power with the support of a key faction of judges who subscribe to the "unitary executive" theory. This theory posits that the president should have broad authority, including the ability to remove officers at will and limit the independence of agencies. The author argues this power grab, along with Congressional inaction, dismantles agencies and threatens democracy, drawing parallels to power consolidation in countries like Turkey, Hungary, and Poland.
