What’s a constitutional crisis? Here’s how Trump’s recent moves are challenging the Constitution’s separation of powers – The Conversation

The Conversation

President Donald Trump’s various actions that appear to overstep the power of the executive office are creating what many legal scholars call a constitutional crisis.

What’s a constitutional crisis? Here’s how Trump’s recent moves are challenging the Constitution’s separation of powers
Published: February 28, 2025 8:44am EST

Author Jeffrey Schmitt Professor of Law, University of DaytonDisclosure statementJeffrey Schmitt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. Partners University of Dayton,University of Dayton provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.

In a short few weeks, President Donald Trump has upended many core parts and functions of the U.S. government. He dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development and fired thousands of government employees. He has also fired several inspectors general and board members of independent agencies. Additionally, Trump’s administration has violated court orders to unfreeze federal funding. And Trump has issued an unprecedented number of executive orders, including one that aims to end the practice of birthright citizenship, something that is guaranteed by the plain text of the U.S. Constitution. Legal experts have said that all of these actions and more are leading up to, or have already sparked, a constitutional crisis.

There is not one clear definition of what a constitutional crisis actually is. And, as constitutional law scholar Jeffrey Schmitt explains in an interview with Amy Lieberman, politics and society editor at The Conversation U.S., there is also no comparable historical example for Trump’s exercise of executive power.

Read more: What’s a constitutional crisis? Here’s how Trump’s recent moves are challenging the Constitution’s separation of powers – The ConversationWhat’s a constitutional crisis? Here’s how Trump’s recent moves are challenging the Constitution’s separation of powers