Unchecked and Unbalanced: Trump’s Executive Power Moves and the Rule of Law

On with Kara Swisher

New York Magazine

News Commentary, News, Society & Culture

4.2 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 13 February 2025

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In just a few weeks, President Trump has flooded the zone with executive orders, which have been met with dozens of lawsuits by state attorneys general, unions and non-profits and complaints by Democrats in Congress. Some of the orders have been blocked in court. But last weekend, Vice President JD Vance posted a tweet implying that a judge can’t tell the executive what to do. So what recourse do the courts, Congress or states have if the administration were to just ignore judicial rulings against them? Kara discusses the strength of our constitutional “checks and balances” and whether we are in or on the brink of a “constitutional crisis” with former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara (host of the Vox Media Podcast Network’s Stay Tuned with Preet); lawyer and outspoken anti-Trump conservative George Conway; CNN special correspondent Jamie Gangel; and former Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Jonathan Kanter. Note: This episode was taped the morning of 2/11/2025, before President Trump said in response to a reporter’s question in the Oval Office that he intended to abide by court rulings and appeal if his orders are blocked. Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I've heard that I got a shout out.
0:02.4	Yeah, you did.
0:03.1	Well, it's mostly because when Elon sues us and puts us in jail, you're our first call.
0:07.4	Well, I hope for you it's the first, not the second.
0:10.2	It's on.
0:27.1	Hi, everyone. From New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network, this is on Kara Swisher, and I'm Kara Swisher.
0:37.8	I'm coming to you from the brink of the constitutional crisis, or maybe not. I think so. In the past three weeks, President Trump has flooded the zone with executive orders,
0:43.6	61 and counting as of this taping. They've been all over the map from trying to overturn birthright citizenship to banning gender affirming care for transgender teens, to freezing government
0:48.1	funds, including for scientific research, to memos that put over 2,000 U.S. AID workers on leave. So far, more than 40 lawsuits have been
0:57.8	filed by state's attorneys general, unions, and non-profits. At least 11 judges have placed stays
1:04.5	on a few of the rulings. But on Monday, a judge ruled that Trump had failed to comply with his
1:09.4	court order. And that's just the first one.
1:12.3	The question is, what recourse do courts, Congress, and states have if the president just ignores
1:17.9	judicial rulings? I want to talk about all that today and whether it constitutes a constitutional
1:22.8	crisis with a lineup of highly experienced and esteemed legal and political experts.
1:28.4	Preet Berrara is a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York
1:32.0	and currently a partner at the White Shoe law firm Wilmer Hale.
1:35.8	Plus, he's the host of the Vox Media Podcast Network's Stay Tuned with Preet.
1:40.7	George Conway is a lawyer who has argued cases before the Supreme Court. He became an outspoken anti-Trump
1:46.5	conservative during the first Trump administration, while his then-wife, Kellyanne Conway, worked as an advisor to Trump.
1:53.2	Jamie Gangel is an award-winning journalist and special correspondent at CNN. She's been covering Trump 2.0
1:59.5	and reporting on the flurry of orders coming out of the White
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from New York Magazine, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of New York Magazine and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.