Dem
47
GOP
53
Several times we have noted that Donald Trump is systematically trying to squash all the other power centers in America like annoying bugs. These include Congress, the media, big law firms, and universities. Maybe Trump is reading a biography of big-game hunter Teddy Roosevelt (or listening to an audio book, since he doesn't read), but he seems to be consciously adopting the same strategy as lions do when hunting zebras. Four lions cannot take down a herd of 100 wild furiously kicking zebras, so what they do is find one zebra that is slower than the others, surround it, and take it down.
When Trump wants something from Congress, he picks on one or two representatives (e.g., Chip Roy, R-TX) and threatens to endorse a primary challenger until the representative caves. The others get the message. When Trump wants the media to worship him, he picks out one or two outlets (e.g., ABC), and sues them into silence. The others get the message. When Trump wants to eliminate Big Law as a force, he picks one or two firms (e.g., Covington & Burling) and beats it into submission. The others get the message. When Trump wants to cow elite universities, he picks one (e.g., Columbia) and illegally witholds funds it is entitled to by virtue of previously signed contracts until it folds. Next time someone asks you what Trump has in common with a pride of African lions, now you know.
In all cases, the institution under attack failed to realize that there is strength in numbers. They should have rallied their colleagues and competitors and said "Now it is us, next time it will be you," joined forces and fought back together. That could have entailed lawsuits, sharing resources, and massive PR campaigns to convince the public that Trump is violating the Constitution. The key to taking him down is to get his approval rating down to 30%. With under 30% approval, Congress will not be so scared of him.
There is one institution we haven't talked about much, but is very much an independent power center: the states. In the federal system, governors and state legislatures have real power. And although it is not entirely consistent, the Supreme Court often sides with the states in battles with the big, bad federal government. The states certainly have the resources to bring and fight court cases up to the Supreme Court. Whether they will when pushed has yet to be tested, but the time may be now.
In particular, Trump has ordered Maine to stop allowing trans girls to play in girls sports. Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) didn't roll over and play dead, as Trump demanded. Naturally, Trump threatened to pull federal funds to which the state is, by law, entitled unless the governor kowtows to him, profusely apologizes, and promises never again to challenge his authority. Maine is a small state and alone is helpless.
The usual scenario seems to be playing out again: Isolate one victim to teach the others a lesson. But suppose instead of the usual "strategy" of capitulating and then begging for mercy from Trump, Mills rallied all the Democratic governors and fought back? That could be part lawsuit and part PR campaign. And they could get creative. Imagine that all the Democratic governors said that the only way to rein Trump in and make him obey the law is to hit him where it hurts: money. They could run a massive national PR campaign telling everyone who expects a tax refund to file as early as possible to get it before the government runs out of money. They could also tell everyone who has taxes due to file form 4868, the application for an automatic extension until Oct. 15 and simply not pay anything now. If 20-30 million people filed for an extension and didn't pay now, it would cause a huge cash flow problem for the government that Trump would be stuck with. It would lead to chaos, with some people and contracts being paid and others not, which would generate thousands of lawsuits. If tens of millions of people did this, there isn't much Trump could do. Participants would have to accept being on the hook for penalties and interest. There is safety in numbers. In 2026, Democrats could run on a platform of "Republican rule always leads to chaos." It would be the modern equivalent of a nonviolent protest or civil disobedience. The key here is for all the (Democratic) governors to band together. Even a few Republican governors might join in, since many of them believe in states' rights and don't like the idea of the president bossing the states around. They know that one false move and they could be next. (V)