The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Ronald Eustice
The concept of checks and balances separates United States governmental power among three co-equal branches — legislative, executive and judicial. It is intended to ensure that no single branch becomes too powerful. Each branch has the authority to limit, restrain or override the actions of the others.
The framers of the U.S. Constitution saw checks and balances as essential for the security of liberty under the Constitution: “It is by balancing each of these powers against the other two, that the efforts in human nature toward tyranny can alone be checked and restrained, and any degree of freedom preserved in the constitution” (John Adams).
The system has worked well for 250 years — at least until now. During Donald Trump’s second term, we have seen a blatant erosion of checks and balances as the president tightens his grip on the Republican Party, which controls both houses of Congress.
People are also reading…
Following his defeat to a Trump-endorsed candidate to represent Kentucky in the House of Representatives, Thomas Massie joins the ranks of Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Jeff Flake, Mitt Romney, Thom Tillis, Don Bacon and other elected Republicans who were either ousted or decided to retire because of their party’s capitulation to Trump. As of May 15, 2026, 36 incumbent Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives have announced that they will not seek re-election in the 2026 election cycle. Trump’s team is working hard to fill these spots with MAGA loyalists. This will further erode dissent and our democracy.
Trump has eroded the system by rigging the electoral process with gerrymandering to maintain his control over Congress. The nationwide redistricting battle that erupted last year has evolved into a forever war. President Trump insists Republicans are “entitled” to more seats and has found ways to make states revise voting maps. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has declared “maximum warfare” and both parties are preparing to exploit opportunities to give themselves more seats. They’re twisting districts into odd shapes that string together voters from faraway regions in a way that gets away from what representation is supposed to be about. None of this is normal. States long stuck to a tradition of redrawing their lines at the start of each decade after receiving census data showing how populations had shifted. Trump last year told Republican-led states to ditch that practice and carve up their states to their advantage ahead of the midterms. Democrats tried to match them but ran into obstacles.
Republicans currently hold a tiny 217-212 House majority and face a difficult political environment. A handful of seats could make the difference in deciding who controls the House for the last two years of Trump’s second term. Last month, Republicans won a new chance to draw seats in their favor at the last minute when the Supreme Court hollowed out a central provision of the Voting Rights Act. In a 6-3 decision in the case Louisiana v. Callais, the Supreme Court severely weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, a critical protection against racial discrimination in redistricting. The ruling struck down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana, establishing new nationwide precedents that make it significantly harder for plaintiffs to challenge racially discriminatory maps.
The U.S. Supreme Court has delivered several landmark decisions and emergency orders favoring Donald Trump, bolstering broad executive power and protecting him from legal challenges. Notable victories include broad immunity for official acts, keeping him on the ballot and extensive emergency (shadow) docket rulings permitting his administrative policies to proceed. In rare cases when conservative-leaning members of the Supreme Court rule against Trump, he does his best to embarrass and intimidate them. Trump has escalated his rhetoric against the United States Supreme Court, recently labeling the institution a "weaponized and unjust Political Organization." He has also threatened judges by singling out individuals and casting the judiciary as a corrupt institution conspiring against him.
The second Trump administration is systematically targeting all opposition in Congress, in the courts, in the press, in the legal profession and at universities — key pillars of democracy. What would the Founding Fathers think?
Follow these steps to easily submit a letter to the editor or guest opinion to the Arizona Daily Star.
Ronald Eustice is a retired international marketing executive and the author of more than 35 books on a variety of topics. He has traveled to more than 90 countries, owns a farm in Minnesota and lives in Casas Adobes (Tucson).
