Gordon L. Weil
On July 4, 1776, a group of representatives of a new country
they called the United States declared that all men (not only citizens or a
subset of them) are equal and have the same human rights. And it’s up to democratic governments to
ensure these rights. (Of course, “men”
would come to mean “people.”)
Now, 249 years later, the United States obviously remains a
work in progress. Some may believe it is reverting to the political system that
existed before the Declaration was published.
Earlier, I compared the actions of President Trump to King George III, as
listed in the Declaration of Independence.
With the federal government under the control of Trump and
Congress, which is entirely dominated by his supporters, only the judiciary,
the third branch of the government, could give hope to doubters about the
Republican regime. But that looks to be
a false hope.
Trump ordered that, despite express constitutional language
and Supreme Court precedent, not all people born in the U.S. are citizens. He wants to exclude children of illegal
residents. Asked to rule on Trump’s order,
the Court avoided making a decision. After
a delay of 30 days, it left him the ability to strip people of their
citizenship.
The Court failed to rule on birthright citizenship, and it
may not issue a decision for many months, possibly even a year. Instead, it focused on banning any U.S.
district court from issuing a “universal injunction” that suspends an executive
action nationwide, while the federal courts consider its legality. Now, only the Supreme Court itself may issue
such an injunction.
Such cases may take weeks or months to get to the Supreme
Court and, meanwhile, the president can apply his edict. People will be harmed, perhaps permanently. Children will be born in the U.S. who may be
stateless. In some states, injunctions
will remain, so there will be a patchwork instead of a single federal birthright
standard.
The Court’s
decision produced a scholarly study of universal injunctions in the 18th
Century. That does not sound political,
though the result favored Trump. When
such injunctions were used against then-President Biden’s executive orders, the
Court never gave them a second thought.
One door was left open for the federal district courts. If a court certified a complaint as a class
action – raising the same issue for people in the same situation as the
plaintiff – then the court might issue a universal injunction. Of course, a court’s approval of a class
action would be challenged by the president, potentially adding to the delay
before a final decision.
If all requests for a universal injunction in a major case
must be decided by the Supreme Court, it could be quite busy. Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s concurring opinion reassuringly
said that the Court could handle its increased workload. Interestingly, no other justices said they
agreed with him. Delays seem inevitable.
The Court was preoccupied by the injunction question. It skipped the real focus of the case: can
Trump’s interpretation of birthright citizenship be squared with the Constitution
and Supreme Court precedent? It dodged
the question that demanded an answer.
The result was Trump’s unchecked view could apply in many parts of the
country.
This week also brought the passage of a destructive and
costly budget bill, ardently sought by Trump so he could congratulate himself
on July Fourth. He offered administrative
concessions to wavering GOP House members and eked out barely enough votes to
accompany the tie- breaking Senate vote of the Vice President. He did it without a single Democratic vote.
Any civics lesson on government teaches about the three
branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Today, all three are under the
control or influence of one person.
Though public opinion polls are questionable, they broadly
show that a majority of Americans do not agree with or even respect the three
branches of their government. By manipulating
historic understandings about constitutional government, a minority has gained
control. That minority is trying to
reshape the system to entrench itself.
The three branches act on behalf of the ultimate authority
in the American government. The
Constitution’s first words name it – “We, the people.”
The United States is a democracy; the people rule. Trump may believe that he can dazzle people
with his showmanship, but the nation depends on their taking charge. The key is participation and the time is now,
as the 2026 elections come into view.
My long-time readers may recall I have a favorite saying
from a cartoon character who reshaped an 1813 American
battle report. Pogo Possum
proclaimed, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”
If you don’t like what’s happening and do nothing, it’s your
fault.
Happy Independence Day.
