1. United States
2. Wash.
3. Letter

Enough is enough. The United States is careening deeper into a constitutional crisis, and the latest failure by the Trump administration to retrieve a migrant from El Salvador—despite a unanimous 9-0 ruling by the Supreme Court—should alarm every American, regardless of political party. When the executive branch deliberately disregards the authority of the judicial branch, it is not only contemptuous—it is authoritarian. This is not just about one case. This is about a pattern. This is about lawlessness at the highest level of government. The constitutional crisis didn’t begin today. It began when an insurrection-inciting felon was allowed to retake office—a man whose actions on January 6th, 2021, should have made him ineligible under the clear language of the 14th Amendment. The very foundation of our democracy was tested then. We are failing that test now. We are watching in real time as federal agencies are gutted, not out of necessity or reform, but seemingly out of pure vengeance and political spite. Lifelong public servants are being silenced or purged. Rule of law is being shredded. And what’s worse, the markets—already destabilized by reckless fiscal policy, overt threats to the independence of the Federal Reserve, and wild, self-serving rhetoric—are being manipulated like pawns in a strongman’s game. The economy no longer feels like a system of opportunity—it feels like a tool of punishment. When the Supreme Court of the United States rules 9-0, there is no ambiguity. There is no partisanship. There is only the law. And when the President of the United States ignores that law, we are no longer living in a functioning constitutional republic—we are in freefall. We must not normalize this. We must not “wait and see.” The time for cautious optimism is over. Our institutions are under siege, and this is not hypothetical. It is happening. Right now. Every day we hesitate, the erosion continues. Congress must act. The courts must be defended. The press must remain vigilant. And the American people must rise to this moment before there is nothing left to defend. History will remember what we did—or what we failed to do.