It has been over 100 days since President Donald Trump took office for the second time. While many expected his second term to extend the traditional limits of the executive branch, political commentators have warned of a “constitutional crisis.” 

The Trump administration has attempted to enact a monetary policy by imposing tariffs and ignoring budget regulations for various executive departments— which is outlined as a duty of the legislative not executive branch. The administration has so far failed to comply with many judicial immigration orders concerning due process. The administration has dissolved government agencies, such as the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the U.S. Agency for International Development, without seeking congressional approval. (again which is required by U.S. law) 

In a panel hosted by DePaul University’s political science department, federal government employees who were fired by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, spoke about the chaos in the federal workforce. 

One speaker, a former contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Aid, shared his thoughts on the dissolution of government departments. He asked to remain anonymous due to concerns about retaliation and his involvement in ongoing litigation against the administration. He said that millions of people around the world have lost access to the agency’s resources, including medication, experimental drugs and medical devices. The impacts can be life-ending. 

“People are dying every day because of a decision your president made for you,” the speaker said.

The Constitution lays out a specific separation of powers to prevent tyranny. If one branch becomes too powerful, the other branches are supposed to check it. According to Malia Bowers, a political science lecturer at DePaul, if that doesn’t happen, a constitutional crisis occurs. 

“(A constitutional crisis) means that there is no longer respect for the way that the constitution has laid out the government,” Bowers said. “Right now, people are saying there is a constitutional crisis because Congress is … allowing the president to take over congressional powers that should not be available to the executive.”

Dozens of lawsuits have challenged nearly every aspect of Trump’s agenda, including those freezing federal funding, ending birthright citizenship and removing the temporary protected status of thousands. 

There have been 220 lawsuits filed against the Trump administration challenging more than 22 executive orders, the firing of 20 high-ranking government officials and dozens of other executive actions. The Supreme Court has issued several rulings regulating the Trump administration’s actions, but the administration has only made minimal attempts to comply.

The administration has pushed back several court dates and toed the line of disregarding several orders, such as the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case. 

The Trump administration deported Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was granted asylum in 2019, without following due process. The Supreme Court ruled the administration must make demonstrated efforts to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return, but Trump and administration officials have publicly said that they will not aid in or allow his return, despite his protected legal status.

In February, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt accused judges of being the source of constitutional conflict within the country. 

“The real constitutional crisis is taking place within our judicial branch, where district court judges and liberal districts across the country are abusing their power to unilaterally block President Trump’s basic executive authority,” Leavitt said. 

Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said the U.S. is in a constitutional crisis. Van Hollen, a democrat, visited El Salvador last month where the Trump administration deported Abrego Garcia and many others. 

“(The administration) is very much flouting the courts as we speak,” Van Hollen said on NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press.’ “They are absolutely in violation of the court orders.”

Scott Hibbard, the chair of the political science department at DePaul, said that the mass firings of federal employees are an attempt to limit challenges to Trump’s agenda from within the government.

“All of these actions that you are reading about in the news — mass deportations, the elimination of the U.S. Agency for International Development, cuts to the education department — are all tied into a larger assertion of executive power that goes beyond what is legally mandated,” Hibbard said. 

Bowers, the political science professor, said the courts and legislative branch are the only established guardrails to stop executive overreach. If the administration ignores court rulings and Congress does not curb the Trump administration, there are no other constitutional protections to stop executive actions. She said one of the few options would be mass protests and mobilization against the Trump administration.

In a speech in New Hampshire on April 27, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker called for exactly that. 

“Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption,” Pritzker said. “But I am now.”

Former Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris echoed Pritzker’s sentiment on public action in a speech on April 30 in California. 

“The one check, the one balance, the one power that must not fail is the voice of the people,” Harris said.

At the DePaul political science panel, the speaker said he is not putting his faith in the legislative or judicial branches. 

“It does look grim,” the former federal employee said. “If we’re going to get out of this, it’s because we come together and make our voices heard as a people.”

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