By Kenneth Tiven
The ideological destruction of constitutional democracy in America is no accident—it follows a carefully executed blueprint. Donald Trump and his inner circle have used religion, power, and a reshaped judiciary to centre Christian nationalist theology in government policy, now ratified by a Supreme Court that appears more political than judicial.
This became glaringly evident when the Court’s conservative majority granted Trump criminal immunity for official acts performed during his presidency. Legal scholars, like University of Michigan’s Leah Litman, have dubbed it a “YOLO Court”—a body operating without precedent or logic, issuing rulings based on ideological “vibes” rather than legal reasoning.
JUDICIAL AUTHORITY OR PRESIDENTIAL IMPUNITY?
The Court’s decision effectively crowns the president with king-like authority, placing him above the law for any “official” action—a dramatic erosion of legal accountability. It also shatters the long-standing principle of stare decisis, leaving legal doctrine vulnerable to partisan reinterpretation.
Simultaneously, the Trump administration coerced leading law firms into pro bono service under threat of being shut out of federal courtrooms. Nine firms that refused were eventually shielded by sympathetic federal district courts.
REWRITING THE RULES ON CITIZENSHIP AND INJUNCTIONS
In Trump vs CASA, a case testing the very definition of birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment, the Court side-stepped the constitutional issue entirely. Instead, Justice Amy Coney Barrett focused on narrowing judicial authority, questioning whether federal courts can issue broad nationwide injunctions.
Barrett’s opinion stated that “universal injunctions likely exceed the equitable authority that Congress has given to federal courts,” granting only partial relief and allowing Trump’s immigration policy to advance under a legal smokescreen.
EMERGENCY JUSTICE, NO JUSTIFICATION
The term just ended was defined by a flood of emergency requests from Trump—snap rulings that often lacked full briefing, oral argument, or proper judicial scrutiny. Justice Elena Kagan, in a pointed dissent, warned that these shortcuts “increase the risk of error” and undermine the legitimacy of constitutional law.
Attorney Deepak Gupta, a regular Supreme Court litigator, echoed these concerns: “We are seeing constitutional law made by judicial reflex, driven by political urgency rather than legal deliberation.”
A LEGAL WAR ON IMMIGRANTS AND THE POOR
Trump’s immigration crackdown has grown increasingly militarized, with border patrol agents and immigration officers reportedly deporting protected-status individuals to offshore prisons in countries like El Salvador. In Los Angeles, Homeland Security bypassed Governor Gavin Newsom by calling in the National Guard and even deploying Marines—an authoritarian gesture with chilling echoes of 1930s fascism.
Meanwhile, immigrant labour remains essential to the US economy—from farm fields to tech firms. Yet Trump continues to target both undocumented workers and legal H1B visa holders, despite their economic necessity.
ROLLBACK OF CIVIL RIGHTS, RISE OF RELIGIOUS RULE
The Court handed religious conservatives a series of major wins:
A 6-3 ruling upheld state bans on gender transition care for minors.
Another allowed parents to withdraw children from public school classes involving LGBTQ+ characters.
These decisions reversed recent progress, including the Court’s own 2020 ruling that banned workplace discrimination against transgender individuals.
A DEMOCRACY DERAILED
Programmes vital to Trump’s own working-class base—like food assistance, healthcare, and public education—face dramatic cuts. Yet his authoritarian drive prioritizes vengeance over governance, eroding the very democracy that sustains American life.
The US Supreme Court, once a guardian of liberty and justice, now stands complicit. Its rulings reflect not the neutral application of law, but the priorities of one man—and the Christian-nationalist power bloc behind him. The consequences, legal and cultural, will define America’s future far beyond this term.
—The writer has worked in senior positions at The Washington Post, NBC, ABC and CNN and also consults for several Indian channels
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