Power Grab: Constitutional Crisis Looms

The third instalment of our Abuse of Power Tracker leads us to the critical question: Are we heading into a full constitutional crisis?

A constitutional crisis looms as a battle over who controls the federal purse strings and workforce is intensifying.

This week’s Abuse of Power Tracker reveals the steps the Trump administration taken to test the limit of its authority, with several lawsuits underway to challenge Trump’s actions.

Before we get into the abuse of power tracker, a quick reminder of what defines abuse of power? When legitimate executive authority is deliberately misused to weaken democratic institutions, target specific groups of Americans, reward political allies while punishing enemies, and concentrate power by bypassing normal checks and balances. Think of it as taking tools meant to maintain democracy and instead using them to dismantle it.

Our tracker serves as an early warning system, helping citizens and lawmakers understand how seemingly isolated incidents connect to form larger patterns that threaten the fundamental principles of democratic governance.