Shumita Basu

At least that's the warning coming from the Varieties of Democracy Project, which measures the health of democracies around the world. The head of that program warns that, quote, if it continues like this, democracy will not last another six months.

At least that's the warning coming from the Varieties of Democracy Project, which measures the health of democracies around the world. The head of that program warns that, quote, if it continues like this, democracy will not last another six months.

His warnings come as President Trump's administration is taking actions that, historically and constitutionally, have been outside of the executive branch's power, like significantly shrinking or trying to eliminate agencies established by laws passed by Congress. The legality of some of those moves are being challenged in multiple lawsuits.

His warnings come as President Trump's administration is taking actions that, historically and constitutionally, have been outside of the executive branch's power, like significantly shrinking or trying to eliminate agencies established by laws passed by Congress. The legality of some of those moves are being challenged in multiple lawsuits.

His warnings come as President Trump's administration is taking actions that, historically and constitutionally, have been outside of the executive branch's power, like significantly shrinking or trying to eliminate agencies established by laws passed by Congress. The legality of some of those moves are being challenged in multiple lawsuits.

But while normally the courts would adjudicate disagreements over what the Constitution allows, the Trump administration has flirted with ignoring court orders. And last weekend seemed to outright defy an order from a federal judge to turn around a plane deporting migrants.

But while normally the courts would adjudicate disagreements over what the Constitution allows, the Trump administration has flirted with ignoring court orders. And last weekend seemed to outright defy an order from a federal judge to turn around a plane deporting migrants.

But while normally the courts would adjudicate disagreements over what the Constitution allows, the Trump administration has flirted with ignoring court orders. And last weekend seemed to outright defy an order from a federal judge to turn around a plane deporting migrants.

That judge gave the administration a Thursday deadline to hand over flight data and yesterday described the administration's response as, quote, At the same time, Trump and some Republicans have called for impeaching judges who slow or stop the administration's proposed policies, a threat that was met with a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts.

That judge gave the administration a Thursday deadline to hand over flight data and yesterday described the administration's response as, quote, At the same time, Trump and some Republicans have called for impeaching judges who slow or stop the administration's proposed policies, a threat that was met with a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts.

That judge gave the administration a Thursday deadline to hand over flight data and yesterday described the administration's response as, quote, At the same time, Trump and some Republicans have called for impeaching judges who slow or stop the administration's proposed policies, a threat that was met with a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts.

To help us take stock of this moment and where it goes from here, I called up Ankush Kadori. He's an attorney, a former federal prosecutor, and senior writer with Politico. And I started by asking him how close he thinks we are to a crisis point.

To help us take stock of this moment and where it goes from here, I called up Ankush Kadori. He's an attorney, a former federal prosecutor, and senior writer with Politico. And I started by asking him how close he thinks we are to a crisis point.

To help us take stock of this moment and where it goes from here, I called up Ankush Kadori. He's an attorney, a former federal prosecutor, and senior writer with Politico. And I started by asking him how close he thinks we are to a crisis point.

So at this point, Trump has really towed the line. You know, the administration hasn't outrightly said we are not going to listen to the courts. They've instead argued that the courts are wrong in many of these cases. But I guess my question to you is, is it even worth distinguishing these?

So at this point, Trump has really towed the line. You know, the administration hasn't outrightly said we are not going to listen to the courts. They've instead argued that the courts are wrong in many of these cases. But I guess my question to you is, is it even worth distinguishing these?

So at this point, Trump has really towed the line. You know, the administration hasn't outrightly said we are not going to listen to the courts. They've instead argued that the courts are wrong in many of these cases. But I guess my question to you is, is it even worth distinguishing these?

Like, how different is it to say the courts don't have jurisdiction to weigh in on the president's decisions versus I am rejecting the courts authority? Right.

Like, how different is it to say the courts don't have jurisdiction to weigh in on the president's decisions versus I am rejecting the courts authority? Right.

Like, how different is it to say the courts don't have jurisdiction to weigh in on the president's decisions versus I am rejecting the courts authority? Right.