Draft:2025 United States constitutional crisis
| Submission declined on 12 March 2025 by Robert McClenon (talk). This submission does not appear to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. Entries should be written from a neutral point of view, and should refer to a range of independent, reliable, published sources. Please rewrite your submission in a more encyclopedic format. Please make sure to avoid peacock terms that promote the subject. I am declining this draft for three reasons. First, this draft has neutrality issues, and seems to be implying that there is or may be a constitutional crisis, more than assessing what reliable sources have written. Second, including events that have happened within the past 72 hours as of 11 March 2025 raises concerns about Wikipedia is not a newspaper. Third, edits to articles about contentious topics should be made by autoconfirmed users, and most of the edits to this draft have been made from shifting IP addresses. The unregistered editor is strongly advised to register an account, especially if they want to edit in a contentious area such as American politics in 2025.
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Comment: There is currently a redirect from 2025 United States constitutional crisis to Department of Government Efficiency. Robert McClenon (talk) 20:42, 11 March 2025 (UTC)
- Comment: Russia in the support table? Any source for that?In addition, this draft is quite a bit incomplete. -Lemonaka 14:16, 11 February 2025 (UTC)
 |  The page 2025 United States constitutional crisis in the mainspace is currently a redirect to Second presidency of Donald Trump.Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL Last edited by The Seal F1 (talk | contribs) 2 months ago. (Update)
Finished drafting? or |
| 2025 United States constitutional crisis | |||
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Elon Musk (left) and Donald Trump (right) | |||
| Date | January 20, 2025 – present (4 months, 3 weeks and 5 days) | ||
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| Methods | Opposition:
Trump administration:
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Business and personal 45th and 47th President of the United States Incumbent Tenure
Impeachments Legal proceedings   |
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A constitutional crisis in the United States is said to have started in the second presidency of Donald Trump, which began on January 20, 2025.
Concerns of such crisis began when the Supreme Court ruled in 2024 that presidential immunity from criminal prosecution extends to all of a president's official acts,[1] limiting the extent of checks and balances on the executive branch. Since then, the Trump administration has been testing the limits of executive power where each action has faced concerns from his opponents and critics.[2]
Lawsuits and judicial rulings have been delaying progress of the Trump administration since the start of the presidential term. However, such rulings continue to be ignored, where little action is taken in response to the ignorance.[3]
Background
Trump v. United States
In 2024, the Supreme Court determined in the case Trump v. United States that presidential immunity from criminal prosecution presumptively extends to all of a president's "official acts".[1] The decision was widely criticized by legal experts and historians, as well as Democratic politicians.[4] These historians and scholars argued that the ruling reshaped the powers of the United States President as it limits checks on presidential power.[5]
Events and terminology
On January 20, 2025, Trump, in his first day of office, issued an executive order that attempted to end birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants in the United States. Plantiffs of lawsuits filed regarding such issue described it as a violation of the 14th amendment of the United States constitution.[6]
On January 24, Trump dismissed 18 inspectors general from federal agencies. The Inspector General Act of 1978 mandates a 30-day notice to Congress, which critics argue was violated in this instance.[7][8] On February 12, 2025, eight of the fired inspectors general sued.[9]
On January 27, the United States' Office of Management and Budget ordered a pause on spending of federal grants and loans. While certain programs such as Social Security and Medicare were exempt, others such as Medicaid and Head Start faced disruptions. Federal court judge Loren AliKhan halted the pause, and the OMB retracted the order the following day.[10] Despite this, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that efforts to freeze federal funding would continue. By January 31, a second federal judge, John J. McConnell Jr., upheld the block, citing potential constitutional violations following a lawsuit from the attorneys general off 22 states and the District of Columbia.[11] McConnell later found that the trump administration violated the order as a result of the states continuing to face issues with acess to federal funds. He ordered the administration to restore the funds, stating that his order "is clear and unambiguous".[3]
On February 2025, thousands of employees working for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have been laid off in an attempt from the Trump administration to close it down.[12] Such attempts has been described as unconstitutional.[13] The agency was established from the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Consequently, any attempts to close down the agency would require congressional approval despite Trump's utilization of executive orders.[12]
On March 8, Columbia University alumnus Mahmoud Khalil was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) despite having a green card as a permanent resident. When concerns have been raised about his immigration status, ICE responded by intending to revoke his green card.[14]
Reactions
Domestic
Critics of Donald Trump in Congress have alleged that he has created a constitutional crisis by ignoring congressional and judicial mandates.[15] Vox has directly described Trump's actions as a constitutional crisis.[2]
UC Berkeley School of Law dean Erwin Chemerinsky stated that the volume of unconstitutional executive orders signed by Trump pointed to a constitutional crisis.[16] After vice president JD Vance asserted that a judge cannot overrule the executive branch, New York University School of Law professor Richard Pildes said that refusing to abide by a court order would create a constitutional crisis.[17] Legal scholar Peter M. Shane said that the attempted closure of the USAID was evidence of a constitutional crisis.[18]
International
On March 9, the United States was added to a human rights watch from Civicus due to concerns in declining freedoms.[19]
See also
References
- ^ a b "What does the Supreme Court immunity ruling mean for Trump? 6 questions answered | PBS News". PBS. July 3, 2024. Archived from the original on July 3, 2024. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
- ^ a b Levitz, Eric (February 5, 2025). "America's constitutional crisis could come to a head in four months". Vox. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
- ^ a b Quinn, Melissa (February 10, 2025). "Judge directs Trump officials to comply with earlier order halting funding freeze - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ Tarinelli, Ryan (July 1, 2024). "Historians, legal experts express dismay at Trump immunity ruling". Roll Call. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
- ^ "Supreme Court's Trump immunity ruling poses threat to democracy, experts say - The Washington Post". The Washington Post. July 3, 2024. Archived from the original on July 3, 2024. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
- ^ Villarreal, Alexandra (January 23, 2025). "What is US birthright citizenship and what does Trump's executive order do?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ Honderich, Holly (January 26, 2025). "Trump fires at least a dozen government watchdogs". BBC. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
- ^ Miller, Zeke; Tucker, Eric; Weissert, Will (January 25, 2025). "Trump uses mass firing to remove independent inspectors general at a series of agencies". Associated Press News.
- ^ Whitehurst, Lindsay (February 12, 2025). "8 Inspectors General Fired By Trump File Federal Lawsuit Claiming Unlawful Termination". HuffPost. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
- ^ "Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans". AP News. January 28, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ "Federal Judge Orders White House to Keep Money Flowing to 22 States -…". archive.ph. February 1, 2025. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
- ^ a b "What is USAID and why does Donald Trump want to end it?". www.bbc.com. February 7, 2025. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
- ^ Crowley, Michael; Cameron, Chris (February 7, 2025). "Judge Freezes Elements of Trump's Plan to Shut Down U.S.A.I.D." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 17, 2025.
- ^ "Immigration agents arrest Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University protests". AP News. March 9, 2025. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
- ^ "In Trump's actions, opponents see more than cuts — they see a constitutional crisis". The Washington Post.
- ^ Liptak, Adam (February 10, 2025). "Trump's Actions Have Created a Constitutional Crisis, Scholars Say". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
- ^ "Legal experts warn of 'constitutional crisis' as JD Vance and Elon Musk question judges' authority over Trump". NBC News. February 9, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
- ^ Murphy, Anna Maria Barry-Jester,Brett (February 9, 2025). "In Breaking USAID, the Trump Administration May Have Broken the Law". ProPublica. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Burga, Solcyré (March 10, 2025). "U.S. Is Added to Human Rights Watchlist". TIME. Retrieved March 10, 2025.