Trump’s power grab could dissuade military leaders from refusing illegal orders, experts warn

An executive order issued by President Donald Trump this week that seems to give him huge power to interpret the law is raising concerns among legal experts that it could dissuade military commanders from refusing unlawful orders and allow the president to exert influence over the military’s legal processes.

An executive order issued by President Donald Trump this week that seems to give him huge power to interpret the law is raising concerns among legal experts that it could dissuade military commanders from refusing unlawful orders and allow the president to exert influence over the military’s legal processes. “I do worry about the chilling effect … I can definitely see people hesitant to fulfill their duties because they’re afraid Trump will have them punished,” Don Christensen, a retired Air Force colonel who previously served as a military judge and the Air Force’s chief prosecutor, told CNN. The executive order, released by the White House on Tuesday evening, is focused on giving the president greater control over independent federal agencies but it includes language that says the president and attorney general “shall provide authoritative interpretations of law for the executive branch,” of which the Defense Department is a part. The order comes as Trump and his Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have ordered the military to take a bigger role in immigration detention operations at the southern border, and have indicated the administration is open to using the military domestically. In his confirmation hearing before the Senate in January, Hegseth side-stepped questions on if he would stand up to Trump if the president issued any illegal orders. “I reject the premise that President Trump will be giving any illegal orders at all,” he said. “We know [Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth has said things in the past that are critical of war crime prosecutions – if they make that official policy will that dissuade prosecution of war criminals?” Christensen added. “Will it dissuade commanders from standing up lawful orders? … This is something that could put fear into the decision making of service members.”