This Is What A War On Democracy Looks Like

The focus on executive action in a president's second term isn't unusual, but how Trump is going about it is.

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To understand the dangers of Donald Trump’s second term, pay attention to the way that it is already different from his first.

The early weeks of Trump’s presidency back in 2017 felt like a jolt, but mainly because his bombastic, unpredictable public appearances were like nothing Washington had seen before. Substantively it unfolded in a relatively typical way, with a combination of executive action and planning for legislation he hoped to pass. On any given day, Trump was as likely to be appearing alongside congressional leaders as he was to be signing an order in the Oval Office.

This time around, congressional action seems to be an afterthought, except insofar as Trump is trying to get the Senate to confirm his nominees. The story of his second administration so far has been the furious flurry of executive orders ― some meaningless but some already transforming what the government does (by freezing large swaths of international aid, for example) or the way the government operates (like wiping out diversity, equity and inclusion efforts).

One reason for the shift is a change in political reality. At the start of 2017, Trump had a 47-seat Republican majority in the House. Now that margin is three measly seats.