It was the day the presidency of the strong Donald Trump fell on the rocks of reality.

His latest attempt to exercise a huge and controversial executive – this time with the temporary interruption of federal aid – triggered nationwide confusion and fear that important social programs would suddenly be in the vacuum.

The methodical approach he described in the first week of Trump’s presidency succumbed to chaos, reminiscent of situations of his first term that helped lose the 2020 elections, CNN notes.

But above all, his dramatic moves triggered a significant legal dispute over the range of presidential authority and the distinction of powers. It is almost certain that this battle will land in the Supreme Court …

Trump’s reputation as an explosive politician who brings chaos reflects the contempt that many Americans feed on the Washington establishment. And he can rightly argue that he has an order to change after an impressive electoral victory. The claims that he wants to become a dictator often bring concern.

But the freezing of the benefits, along with other moves at the beginning of this term, such as the dismissal of prosecutors of the Ministry of Justice and the revocation of citizenship, reflects Trump’s view that the presidency has almost unlimited power and that it can simply decide what is legal And what isn’t it.

“The White House Counsel’s office believes that this is within the President’s power to do so, and therefore does so,” his press spokesman said. White House Caroline Levitt to CNN journalist in the first Brifing.

That is, it took only one week and one day for Trump’s second presidency to have a serious challenge for the US Constitution.

How an internal note triggered national chaos

The Budget Office caused a storm on Monday night in a memorandum that ordered the temporary cessation of “all activities related to the obligation or disbursement of all federal financial aid”. The note, received by CNN, excluded Medicare for individuals. But there was chaos with MPs, local governments and NGOs not knowing which programs were cut and what they continued. Theoretically, all America programs, small and large, were threatened.

The efforts of Trump’s team to explain that the freezing was not as wide as it seemed just worsened the situation. Levit could not clarify, for example, in her first update if Medicaid was blocked. He later clarified that he did not, but the program of the program was out of service in many states for much of the day.

By night, a federal judge imposed a temporary interruption of the help of the aid until Monday.

US Regional Judge Loren L. Alikhan closed the surreal and confused day after pressure from a lawyer at the Ministry of Justice, saying: “The government does not know the full range of programs to be ceased.”

Trump’s “Shock and Awe” was dismantled in confusion

The practice of “shock and awe” by Trump, with the “storm” of presidential decrees, has made it almost impossible for its critics to criticize individual issues.

The irony, however, is that everyone’s attention has turned to the crucial role of social benefits that Trump wants to “check” in order to cut federal spending. Therefore, the climate for Musk, who is leading the ministry, may have changed, CNN notes.

The question is whether Trump will try to go beyond the limits of his power, having already attempted to cancel Congress’s decisions on social programs.

Steven Miller, a White House Deputy Chief on Policy, told CNN that freezing was necessary because the bureaucrats gave money to “bad and destructive” policies.

And Levit insisted that Trump had the right to do so, because that is why the American people voted for him, as he said.

One interpretation of Trump’s victory last year is that many Americans had lost their confidence in the government and were angry at the volume of Biden government spending.

But the victory in the elections does not give the president the right to ignore the law and Trump vowed to keep it just nine days ago.

And the controversial government spending are included in laws passed by Congress which, according to the Constitution, controls state finances. Trump may propose new laws, but he cannot ignore those who already exist.

A similar contempt for the law was also shown in the dismissal of Trump of the prosecutors who conducted investigations against him under former Special Prosecutor Jack Smith.

Trump and his allies have long argued that liberal bureaucrats are abolishing the goals of Republican presidents. All 12 officials who were expelled from the Justice Ministry said that they could not trust them that they would execute Trump’s agenda, although prosecutors are supposed to follow the law and not the political agendas.

The White House insists that the President’s constitutional powers in Article 2 mean that he has his right to dismiss anyone. This is an argument that is addressed to the courts.

Trump’s attempt to abolish citizenship as part of the suppression of immigration also seems to be in contrast to the Constitution – which the president does not have the powers to modify.

The presidents and their consultants are not kings and cannot decide what is constitutional. If they did, the US Democratic Governance system would collapse, CNN notes.

“The idea of ​​democracy is that when laws are passed, they bind not only citizens, but also the president,” said Professor of Constitutional Law and Policy at Brown University, Corey Brettschneider.

Trump just starts the pressure

What happened on Tuesday shows that Trump intends to push his powers to the extremes. And there are suspicions that the government is launching political battles and legal struggles specifically to persuade the Conservative Supreme Court to further expand the field of powers of the presidency.

Republican support in Trump in the Capitol – underlined by legislators who refused to condemn him – proved in Trump’s first term that referral is an ineffective tool for accounting for the Oval Office’s tenants. And the majority of the US Supreme Court created by Trump opened the way last year for more abuse of power than the 47th president, providing him with substantial immunity.

“The presidency is supposed to be limited by law and the Constitution,” Bretschneider said. “And Trump sees it very differently – that he has the power to do whatever he wants. And this is really a vision of authoritarian control. “