Trump’s War on the Courts

As judges have ruled against the Trump administration on DOGE cuts and his deportation policies, he’s lashed out at “monster” judges. His administration is openly flouting court decisions. Some of his supporters have been calling for impeachment and even violence against judges.

Now some judges are talking about having their own security force because they don’t feel protected by U.S. marshals. If this were happening in another country, we would comfortably say that we’re moving toward authoritarianism.

University of Michigan law professor Sam Bagenstos talked about all these threats to democracy and the constitutional order. with Lincoln Square’s Susan J. Demas. While the courts are one way to stop Trump right now, Sam also stresses that Congress has a responsibility to step up and people need to make their voices heard with protests.

For more of Sam’s in-depth analysis on key court cases involving the Trump administration, read his article for Lincoln Square.

In addition to serving in both the Biden and Obama administrations, Sam has also run for office as a Democrat to the Michigan Supreme Court. And he believes the Democratic Party “has a huge problem with communication.”

“I will say, the older I get, the more I think we need younger voices,” he said. “I used to think that was very ageist. And now, as I get older, I see there's a lot of discourse going on in the world that I just don't have the same access to, no matter how I try. And so I think that's important.”

Thank you

Jeanne Elbe

,

Jason Dyer

,

Dawn Marie Galtieri

,

Tony Hausner

,

Kevin Paquette

, and many others for tuning into our live video with

Sam Bagenstos

!