Poliakoff & Associates, P.A. Advocacy No Comments

Executive Powers

There have been at least 1,277 confirmed cases of measles in the U.S. in 2025, surpassing the previous record for most cases since the U.S. declared the disease eradicated in 2000—1,274 cases in 2019. Prior to this year, the U.S. had seen an annual average of about 180 cases per year since 2000.  At least three people have died from measles this year, including two children.

Here are 10 new precedents being set by Trump without any conservative or libertarian dissent:

  1. Presidents can limit the classified information they share with lawmakers after bombing a foreign country without the approval of Congress.
  2. Presidents can accept gifts from foreign nations, as large as a $200 million plane, even if it’s unclear whether said president gets to keep the plane at the end of the term.
  3. Presidents can aggressively pardon supporters, including those who attacked law enforcement or made political donations for freedom. The strength of the case in said pardons is irrelevant.
  4. Presidents can take control of a state’s National Guard, even if the governor opposes it, and occupy the state for as long as said president wants.
  5. Presidents can direct the Justice Department to prosecute their political opponents and punish critics. These punishments can include stripping Secret Service protections, suing them and threatening imprisonment.
  6. Presidents can try to browbeat the Federal Reserve into cutting interest rates, including by floating replacements for the Fed chair before their term is up.
  7. Presidents can punish media companies, law firms and universities that don’t share their viewpoints or values.
  8. Presidents can actively profit from their time in office, including creating new currencies structured to allow foreign nationals to invest anonymously, benefiting said president.
  9. Presidents can unilaterally freeze spending approved by Congress, and dismantle or fire the heads of independent agencies established by law.
  10. Presidents can usurp Congress’s power to levy tariffs, provided they declare a national emergency.

What will happen when a Democrat gets elected?