On Monday, January 25th, President Trump was sworn into office for the second time, and he has been very busy since then. His controversial candidacy and, ultimately, his presidency in 2016 pivoted the U.S. political system in ways the country has not seen before. 

Weeks into his second administration, a series of executive orders freezing federal funding, institutions, and jobs has created an uproar in the political system. His latest initiative is pressuring federal workers to resign. Trump is using this action as an avenue to shrink the size of the federal government, giving workers the option to resign now and be paid through September. The email with the subject line “Fork in the Road” outlined the options for workers and incentivized them to resign. While the initiative is supposedly part of a greater plan to reallocate funds by shrinking the federal government, there are no official plans for what will happen next. However, there are fears that potential next steps could be to eliminate entire institutions, like USAID, that Trump opposes, or rehire workers that only align with his views. No matter what, these actions are reshaping the federal government to reflect the type of government most ideal for Trump. There will be no surprise if the end of this purge eliminates the opposition by leaving the federal government with only republican workers and institutions that support the Trump Administration. 

The question is, is this legal?

The short answer is that President Trump is exercising his executive privileges through executive orders. Instead of focusing on the legality of these actions, the bigger question is if this is a sign of democratic erosion. 

According to Levitsky and Ziblatt, many modern democracies erode when elected leaders undermine from within. Part of how populist outsiders gain traction is when they reject the democratic rules of the game and deny their opponents legitimacy. This past week, the Education Department has been trying to fight against the federal government cuts, but when democratic lawmakers showed up to work, they were denied access. Having voiced opposition to the current administration’s policies, their denial of work goes back to Levitsky and Ziblatt’s claim that populist outsiders like to lessen the legitimacy of their opponents. Another characteristic of a leader slowly working to erode democratic institutions is when the leader tolerates or encourages violent allies. January 6th is a notable date in American history when Trump-supporting Americans stormed the Capital. Now, Trump, who quietly denounced the attack when it occurred, is threatening to fire F.B.I agents who are part of the investigation. Once again, this is lessening the legitimacy of his opposition while simultaneously supporting violent allies.  

Lieberman et al. argue that Trump’s presidency directly challenges key democratic norms. Since his first term, Trump has actively worked to erode democratic institutions by threatening the legitimacy of independent press, elections, and objective facts. They go as far as to compare him to an authoritarian figure because he attacked checks and balances and questioned the legitimacy of elections. With the current Congressional makeup, the majority of representatives are part of Trump’s party. The Supreme Court also faces the same issue, with three Justices appointed by Trump, and a potential vacancy is on the horizon. So even if federal officials recognized this democratic backsliding, individuals of the same party or appointed by the President would not act against him. Therefore, the idea of checks and balances disappears, creating more democratic erosion. 

In 2016, Trump shook up the political sphere because he was an outlier to the rest of the candidates. People wanted change and no longer trusted politicians, another symptom of democratic backsliding. He offered something new to audiences, thus encouraging individuals who had lost faith in the current system to pick the new candidate. 

What individuals may have not expected is that this outlier demonstrates core characteristics of the “populist outsider” Levitsky and Ziblatt write about. Instead of being a refreshing new addition to the political system, Trump has proved that he is slowly encouraging the erosion of American democracy.