This letter to the editor, by Carol Skinner, appeared in the Hudson Star Observer on February 27, 2025.

Our US Constitution establishes three co-equal branches in our federal government, legislative, executive, and judicial, and specifies each branch’s role and responsibilities under our country’s rule of law. More than 220 years ago, in Marbury v. Madison, our US Supreme Court determined that our independent judiciary is the final arbiter of the law.

Performing their responsibilities in that role, several federal judges issued temporary restraining orders and injunctions pausing some of President Trump’s recent executive actions while lawsuits challenging them proceed. These judges based their decisions on long-standing US Supreme Court precedents and federal statutes.

Lawyers arguing for Mr. Trump’s positions promptly appealed to higher federal courts.

But instead of focusing on the appeals process, prominent members of the executive and legislative branches publicly maligned the integrity of individual judges, threatened to impeach them, and asserted the president is not required to abide by their court orders.

No one should indulge such chatter.

The American Bar Association condemned these baseless statements as dangerous attacks on our legal system. Accusing a judge of corruption and threatening impeachment for an adverse ruling undermines our independent judiciary and compromises our rule of law. Claiming the president may defy court orders violates our system of checks and balances and threatens the foundation of our constitutional government.

But Mr. Trump is pushing an outlier theory of constitutional executive authority where the president has power to act without the checks and balances of congressional oversight or judicial review. Recently Mr. Trump wrote on social media, “He who saves his Country does not violate any law.” Four days later he referred to himself as “the king”, and the White House posted an illustration of him wearing a crown.

America celebrates Presidents’ Day, not coronation day. In recent polls, a majority of Americans say Mr. Trump has exceeded his authority since assuming the presidency. These polls also show Americans expect him to follow the court ruling when a judge finds he’s done something illegal. We Americans still honor our rule of law and want our three co-equal branches of government to keep checking and balancing each other.