The Trump administration continues to show an uncanny ability to turn basic governance into a constitutional crisis, and the latest developments show they have no intention of slowing down.
One of the more creative stunts recently involved the arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and permanent U.S. resident who made the critical error of thinking that free speech was still a thing. Federal immigration authorities, ever vigilant for threats to the nation, decided that his involvement in pro-Palestinian protests warranted detention. Allegations of Hamas ties were thrown around, because of course they were. His lawyers, who apparently still believe in things like due process, have been scrambling to challenge the claim. Meanwhile, the message has been made crystal clear: protest at your own peril.
The administration has also been showing its innovative side in dismantling the Department of Education. Why invest in education when you can just get rid of it altogether? By shutting down key offices and terminating half the workforce, including the pesky civil rights divisions, they’ve ensured that the government’s ability to enforce educational equity is, well, no longer a thing. States are now scrambling to figure out how to pick up the pieces, but hey, if kids wanted a fair education, they should’ve been born rich.
And let’s not forget disaster relief, because who doesn’t love a good hostage situation? The administration has been threatening to withhold crucial funds from states and cities that don’t toe the line politically. Emergency management, it turns out, is just another tool for control. Nothing says ‘efficient government’ like telling a hurricane-ravaged town to reconsider its voting habits before getting assistance.
Of course, these policies aren’t just affecting Americans. Globally, the administration’s antics continue to alienate allies and embolden adversaries. Between trade wars, immigration crackdowns, and general diplomatic chaos, the U.S. has been making quite the impression on the world stage. And by impression, I mean other countries are actively reconsidering their reliance on the U.S. for, well, anything.
Meanwhile, state and local governments are treating the administration’s overreach like an out-of-control wildfire—scrambling to contain the damage before it spreads further. Lawsuits are flying left and right, with California and a coalition of states taking legal action against the Department of Education’s demolition project. Sanctuary cities, refusing to be bullied into acting as federal immigration enforcement, are also suing in response to threats of funding cuts. And in places like San Antonio, local leaders are actually doing the unthinkable—trying to help displaced federal workers who were unceremoniously cast aside.
So, while the administration continues its quest to redefine governance as a chaotic, litigation-filled spectacle, the rest of the country is left picking up the pieces. The good news? There’s still some pushback. The bad news? There’s a lot of mess to clean up.
But hey, at least it’s never boring.