The US Courts Are the Last Bastion of Resistance
Published in Der Standard
(Austria) on 6 September 2025
by Manuela Honsig-Erlenburg (link to
original)
If Trump and his MAGA ideologues continue to accumulate executive authority for four years, they may effect an irreversible reshaping of the United States’ democracy.
Donald Trump’s second presidential term may be just shy of eight months old, but the ultra-conservative right’s restructuring of the United States’ democratic system has already reached alarming proportions. Trump and his organization are keeping the world and the country on a knife-edge as they push ahead with seismic changes affecting almost every sphere. Most concerning of all is the way in which the institutional checks and balances of the United States’ democracy are being progressively stripped away, and civil rights systematically curtailed. Any cries of protest have largely fallen on deaf ears.
The U.S. president has the backing of a movement intent on securing power for itself using authoritarian methods. In contrast to Trump’s first term, this administration appears to be drawing on the sort of meticulous and ruthless program outlined in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.
An Object Lesson in Autocracy
The last few months in the U.S. have resembled an object lesson in authoritarianism: from creating images of the enemy, weakening government agencies and independent bodies, to deploying "revenge politics" against critics and the media, and staging and combating imaginary threats. Sending the National Guard into Democratic-governed states and renaming the Department of Defense the Department of War are just the most recent examples. Everything is following a particular playbook — one which combines a craving for power with an ultra-right ideology.
The courts appear to be the last holdout of resistance at this time. Thus, the vast majority of Trump's tariffs were ruled illegal and fast-track deportation procedures for immigrants were halted. In many instances, judges issued temporary injunctions against the barrage of executive orders. Yet the sheer volume of lawsuits brought against the government’s unlawful actions is stretching the U.S. judicial system to its limits. And increasingly often, the Supreme Court is acting as a partisan institution that undermines the lower courts’ judicial authority. Many observers have long considered the highest federal court a rubber-stamp-like mechanism of Trump's. The most sensational test case is that of tariffs. If the Supreme Court confirms the judgment against the government, it could lead to billions being reclaimed in customs duties.
Democrats Adrift
And what are the Democrats doing to resist all of this? They still don’t seem to know how to respond to the ongoing dismantling of the United States. There are occasional glimmers of optimism and fighting spirit. Such as when the Democratic senator of New Jersey, Cory Booker, railed against Trump’s policies in a 25-hour-long speech, the longest ever delivered in the Senate’s history. Or when California Gov. Gavin Newsom wins over an audience for his policies by lampooning Trump on Twitter. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the progressive left’s cult figure, Bernie Sanders, are also showing up for the resistance. But it still does not amount to any sort of strategy. U.S. Democrats appear divided and lacking leadership.
A genuine generational change of personnel would be the first step toward renewing the party before the midterm elections. Yet the Democrats will only succeed in countering Trump’s right-wing demolition project if they get their act together in good time for the elections. If Trump and his MAGA fanatics continue to accumulate executive authority for all four years, they may effect an irreversible restructuring of the United States’ democracy.
Donald Trump’s second presidential term may be just shy of eight months old, but the ultra-conservative right’s restructuring of the United States’ democratic system has already reached alarming proportions. Trump and his organization are keeping the world and the country on a knife-edge as they push ahead with seismic changes affecting almost every sphere. Most concerning of all is the way in which the institutional checks and balances of the United States’ democracy are being progressively stripped away, and civil rights systematically curtailed. Any cries of protest have largely fallen on deaf ears.
The U.S. president has the backing of a movement intent on securing power for itself using authoritarian methods. In contrast to Trump’s first term, this administration appears to be drawing on the sort of meticulous and ruthless program outlined in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.
An Object Lesson in Autocracy
The last few months in the U.S. have resembled an object lesson in authoritarianism: from creating images of the enemy, weakening government agencies and independent bodies, to deploying "revenge politics" against critics and the media, and staging and combating imaginary threats. Sending the National Guard into Democratic-governed states and renaming the Department of Defense the Department of War are just the most recent examples. Everything is following a particular playbook — one which combines a craving for power with an ultra-right ideology.
The courts appear to be the last holdout of resistance at this time. Thus, the vast majority of Trump's tariffs were ruled illegal and fast-track deportation procedures for immigrants were halted. In many instances, judges issued temporary injunctions against the barrage of executive orders. Yet the sheer volume of lawsuits brought against the government’s unlawful actions is stretching the U.S. judicial system to its limits. And increasingly often, the Supreme Court is acting as a partisan institution that undermines the lower courts’ judicial authority. Many observers have long considered the highest federal court a rubber-stamp-like mechanism of Trump's. The most sensational test case is that of tariffs. If the Supreme Court confirms the judgment against the government, it could lead to billions being reclaimed in customs duties.
Democrats Adrift
And what are the Democrats doing to resist all of this? They still don’t seem to know how to respond to the ongoing dismantling of the United States. There are occasional glimmers of optimism and fighting spirit. Such as when the Democratic senator of New Jersey, Cory Booker, railed against Trump’s policies in a 25-hour-long speech, the longest ever delivered in the Senate’s history. Or when California Gov. Gavin Newsom wins over an audience for his policies by lampooning Trump on Twitter. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the progressive left’s cult figure, Bernie Sanders, are also showing up for the resistance. But it still does not amount to any sort of strategy. U.S. Democrats appear divided and lacking leadership.
A genuine generational change of personnel would be the first step toward renewing the party before the midterm elections. Yet the Democrats will only succeed in countering Trump’s right-wing demolition project if they get their act together in good time for the elections. If Trump and his MAGA fanatics continue to accumulate executive authority for all four years, they may effect an irreversible restructuring of the United States’ democracy.
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