President Donald Trump has already attempted to bring bogus charges against political enemies, strong-arm television networks, deploy the military to Democratic cities, and empower immigration enforcement agents to kill American citizens with impunity—but a series of setbacks have constrained his power.
Back in January 2025, observers predicted a range of authoritarian actions from a second Trump administration. Yet, over a year later, pushback from the judiciary and civil society has, in many cases, limited the president’s reach.
This week offered a stark example of this dynamic: Trump initiates a potentially tyrannical move, only to be met with resistance from citizens and the constitutional order.
It’s Still Legal to Advocate Against War Crimes
On Tuesday, Trump’s Justice Department attempted to indict six Democratic lawmakers for exercising their First Amendment rights. The attempt centered on a video released last fall featuring Senators Mark Kelly and Elissa Slotkin, among others, warning military and intelligence agencies that “threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home.”
The lawmakers, many of whom are former soldiers or intelligence operatives, reminded their counterparts to “refuse illegal orders.” This message followed allegations that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered the military to “kill everybody” aboard a Venezuelan fishing boat—a command considered illegal on multiple levels.
The question of what law the Democrats’ message could have broken is a valid one: How could encouraging compliance with the Constitution or the Geneva Convention be illegal?
However, the president characterized the Democrats’ actions as a capital crime. On Truth Social, Trump declared the lawmakers had committed “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” and reposted a supporter’s call to “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!”.
In this administration, the Justice Department appears to prioritize the president’s desires over the law. It was therefore unsurprising, though still shocking, that the US attorney’s office in Washington attempted to indict the so-called “seditious six” this week.
Remarkably, the DOJ failed. Grand juries typically side with the prosecution, hearing only the government’s case and needing only “probable cause” to approve an indictment. Yet, the administration could not meet even this low bar.
This pattern extends to other cases. Attempts to prosecute former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James were also dismissed by judges and grand juries. While the outcome of the criminal investigation into Fed chair Jerome Powell remains uncertain, it has so far failed to pressure him into resigning.
Trump Seems to Be Retreating on Martial Law
Another indication of democratic resilience emerged this week. In 2025, the Trump administration repeatedly surged federalized National Guard troops to Democratic-run cities, ostensibly to quell civil unrest or deter protests.
A June memorandum authorized the Guard’s deployment to any “locations where protests against” ICE functions “are occurring or are likely to occur based on current threat assessments and planned operations.” This asserted the authority to send the military anywhere in the US where a demonstration against his immigration agenda was happening or anticipated.
This contravened a long-standing norm of American democracy, which reserves civil law enforcement to civilian officials except in extraordinary circumstances.
The administration’s use of the National Guard drew rebukes from the judiciary, including the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that the Trump administration had withdrawn all federalized National Guard troops from U.S. cities.
American Democracy Isn’t Going Down Without a Fight
This pattern—the administration attempting, but often failing, to enact authoritarian measures—has repeated itself frequently. The Federal Communications Commission attempted to pressure Disney into removing Jimmy Kimmel from the air for making jokes it disliked; entertainment unions and Disney+ subscribers threatened a boycott, and Kimmel was reinstated.
When Border Patrol agents in Minnesota fired 10 times at the prone body of protestor Alex Pretti, the administration sought to vilify the victim and praise the agents. However, citizens and officials from both parties demanded an investigation, and the Justice Department reluctantly complied.
The backlash to Pretti’s killing ultimately led the administration to scale back its deportation surge in Minnesota, which had been generating routine violations of residents’ civil liberties.
The White House has aggressively challenged the due process rights of immigrants, with some success. However, its unlawful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to a prison notorious for torture was overturned by federal judges, and Garcia was eventually repatriated. Similarly, an attempt to deport a Tufts student for authoring an op-ed was defeated in court.
Perhaps most importantly, despite the president’s interest in influencing elections, Democrats have won several special and off-year elections since Trump took office.
The State of the Union Is Still… Horrible
This is not a cause for complacency. Many of the administration’s attempts to subvert the rule of law have succeeded. The president has freed insurrectionists while blocking a federal investigation into Renee Good’s killing, purged the Justice Department of independent prosecutors, nullified court orders, and allegedly violated the human rights of immigrant detainees. It has also intimidated news organizations and law firms into concessions.
Furthermore, as long as Republicans control the Senate, the judiciary is likely to become more deferential to Trump, as his appointees fill an increasing number of seats.
The point is not that things are going well, but that they would be far worse if the president had his way. One year in, the administration’s intentions have proven as troubling as predicted, but American society has resisted its assaults on democracy better than many feared.
