US Politics
What are the Limits of Presidential Power?
August 2025
The slow creep of executive overreach is decades in the making, with each administration testing and stretching the limits of the Constitution in its own way. Today, the checks and balances meant to restrain Presidential authority are eroding, and as we peel the curtain back to unveil the extent of government power, the skeletons within are frightening.
Key Supreme Court cases show this gradual progression and cornering of power in the executive branch.
Jordan Kari - Founder, KPI
Over the last several years, Supreme Court decisions and administrative actions have exhibited a fair and logical mindset towards checking executive authority. However, following the appointment of three conservative-leaning judges in Trump’s first term, we see a dramatic shift in how the third branch checks the executive.
This served as a catalyst for what the country deems an acceptable standard of government balance, ultimately leading to a shattering decision in 2025 that carves out absolute immunity for the President. This landmark case effectively reshaped the constitutional balance of power and protected the President from being sued or prosecuted for actions taken in office.
Executive Orders
However, as we look prior to this administration, this trend appears bipartisan and pervasive.
From President Bush’s post-9/11 expansions of surveillance and military authority to President Obama’s use of drone strikes and immigration deferrals, to President Trump’s tariffs and sweeping immigration crackdowns, each administration has pushed the boundaries of executive power. Although not unique to any administration, the concentration of power in the executive branch should be raising alarm bells.
In the same vein, recent actions by the Trump administration have proved controversial: tariffs imposed without legislative approval, aggressive immigration enforcement, threats to revoke birthright citizenship, politically motivated changes to voting districts, mass firings among the civil workforce, and the federalization of local police.
Together, these moves have instilled a Chilling Effect: a level of fear across the country, creating a climate where people feel compelled to fall in line with the President or face retaliation. All the while, Congress and the courts (for the most part) are silent.
How do we move forward from here?
Unchecked expansion of executive power requires new guardrails. Congress should establish statutory changes to create an Executive Review Board, a quasi-state-federal group comprising both elected officials and state Attorneys General (AGs), which would encourage a level of due process in unilateral decisions.
A bipartisan and transparent group could, in theory, vet the legal and constitutional grounds for presidential actions via an expedited judicial review. And with state AG participation, the Board could help identify and coordinate legal questions with the federal court process, increasing the likelihood of posing these objections to the Supreme Court.
Although the Board isn’t a silver bullet for an aligned Court, it could be a viable tool. And these actions would not strip the President of their power, but would ensure decisions affecting millions are justified, tested, and held accountable. To work, this should be a part of a multipronged strategy formulated using judicial, congressional, and public input.
Put simply, Congress should pass a law that establishes a politically-balanced “Executive Review Board” that would bring back formal rules and checks for big presidential moves, instead of letting the president act alone and at the expense of our democracy.
Executive power and big government actions have grown to be a part of our everyday lives. And this is not solely a partisan issue; both conservative and democratic administrations have played their part in pursuing a strong federal government. But these inches toward a more authoritarian governance approach are putting our democracy on life support.
We need to act now and work with policymakers at the state and federal levels to create a more cognizant system and reinstate the checks and balances our country was founded on. An “Executive Review Board” is one example of what we could do, but real change comes from holding those in power accountable. Together, we, the people, can make a difference.
Sources
https://harvardlawreview.org/blog/2025/04/president-trump-in-the-era-of-exclusive-powers/
https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S1-C1-8/ALDE_00013797/
https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S1-C1-5/ALDE_00013794/
https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S4-4-7/ALDE_00000695/
https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep553/usrep553723/usrep553723.pdf
https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/supreme-court-case-library/zivotofsky-v-kerry
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/520/681/
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/17-965_h315.pdf
https://www.scotusblog.com/cases/case-files/seila-law-llc-v-consumer-financial-protection-bureau/
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-939_e2pg.pdf
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/data/executive-orders
https://ballotpedia.org/Donald_Trump%27s_executive_orders_and_actions,_2025