What If There Are No Guardrails?

A documented account of creeping authoritarianism in Trump’s second term—and the legal boundaries already being ignored.

Editor’s Preface

Brie is a reader of The Long Memo, but I’m also a subscriber to her Substack, The Brie-fing. She's what I’d affectionately call a scriptophile—someone who writes longhand notes, diaries, and political reflections in actual ink, on actual paper. Quirky? Yes. Interesting? Absolutely.

I’ve sardonically joked that I hope I don’t someday end up reading “The Diary of Brie McReynolds,” though if that ever happens, I imagine she’ll be played by someone amazing in the inevitable made-for-Netflix adaptation.

In all seriousness, Brie graciously agreed to write an original piece for The Long Memo. As I’ve said before, amplifying diverse perspectives is essential, and we’re honored to feature her voice here.

The events described in this piece are real, and the majority are backed by public reporting from The New York Times, Axios, and other major, respected outlets. A few of the most alarming incidents—such as the use of the Alien Enemies Act or the deployment of federal marshals—are currently being litigated. Brie’s commentary reflects both the documented record and the emotional gravity of the moment. The Long Memo stands in the time-honored tradition of publications that recognize a writer’s right to sound the alarm before the smoke becomes fire. While some conclusions are Brie’s opinion, they are rooted in fact—not fantasy.

I’m grateful to her for saying what so many of us are sensing but struggling to articulate. If you’re not already reading her work, I recommend checking out The Brie-fing for more.

---

Donald Trump has already departed from American democracy. The only question now is whether the system will follow him.

He’s overstepped his executive authority time and again, as evidenced by the fact that they've been ordered to rehire thousands of the employees they let go. He’s bypassing Congress in a host of ways, like skipping steps while selling billions of dollars of arms to Israel. The level of control he’s managed to exercise over two branches of government is already unprecedented and, to put it nicely, testing the limits of the law.

I listen to a lot of political podcasts, and the experts & pundits & lawyers & politicians agree: the courts are the last line of defense against Trump’s grabs for power. They’ve disbanded entire watchdog agencies and fired 16+ inspectors general, leaving less people to scrutinize their work, and they’ve got loyalists installed at the FBI and the DOJ. The question becomes an obvious one; if he bashes through a court ruling, what options do We The People even have to hold him accountable?

We might be learning the answer to this question sooner than we expected; unfortunately, March 15, 2025, the 54th day of his administration, Donald Trump started doing just that.

Reporting by Axios confirms that the White House deported a group of Venezuelan migrants, despite a judge's direct order to turn the plane around. In addition, The New York Times reports that Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a kidney transplant specialist and Brown University professor who had a valid visa, was also deported despite a judge’s explicit order against it.

Joyce Vance sums it up pretty succinctly: “If a court orders you to do something, you do it. … Democracy flows from this basic underpinning of the rule of law. It guarantees certainty and clarity so that people can contract, invest, feel safe, trust government - because everyone must follow the same laws. If Trump busts that covenant with the people, then our government is no longer a government by, for, and of the people, It is a government of Donald Trump, and it operates at his whim.”

I know it’s tempting to tune out right now; life just keeps marching on, the bills don’t stop, the kids are growing… but I am genuinely concerned about our right to vote in the future.

Below is a partial record—just the highlights—from Trump’s first 54 days. Each is reported by the New York Times. Each sub-bullet is my added commentary. Together, they sketch a picture not of strong leadership, but creeping authoritarianism.

STRIPPING OUR SERVICES

• Moved to withdraw from the World Health Organization

  • We learned in 2020 that diseases have no borders

• Canceled scientific meetings and delayed health data

  • Not helpful during bird flu outbreak

• Fired more than a dozen inspectors general

  • These were the people for 50 years in charge of rooting out corruption in the federal government

• Halted civil rights work

• Fired N.L.R.B. general counsel and Democratic board member

  • The agency is now unable to reach a quorum; effectively eliminating them

• Removed thousands of government web pages

• Fired director of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

• Ordered Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop most work

  • Their whole job was protecting consumers from scammy business practices, and they recovered more money than they cost

• Blocked enforcement of environmental justice laws

  • No more holding polluters accountable for the sicknesses they give us

• Disbanded a task force intended to prevent foreign influence in U.S. elections

  • This will TOTALLY make our elections more secure

• Directed the new Environmental Protection Agency head to end climate standards on household appliances, as well as toilets and lightbulbs

• Gutted the National Institutes of Health and training programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

  • Idk man, I kinda like that our government is trying to cure disease and keep us safe

• Rehired some bird flu response workers

  • Shouldn’t have happened in the first place

• Announced a staff cut of 84 percent at the Office of Community Planning and Development, which funds recovery from disasters

  • After the tornadoes this weekend response performance will be tested

• Reinstated some fired F.D.A. employees

  • Shouldn’t have happened in the first place

• Closed the Social Security Administration’s civil rights office

• Ordered Pentagon to stop offensive cyberoperations against Russia

  • I can’t think of a rational reason why this would be a good idea

• Reinstated 84 of the 170 employees at the National Science Foundation who were fired last month

  • Shouldn’t have happened in the first place

• Dismissed outside committees that advise federal statistics agencies such as the Bureau of Economic Analysis

  • Raises concerns about the truthfulness of information we get in the future

• Eliminated two advisory committees dedicated to food safety

  • I like my food safe…

• Implemented major cuts at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, closing offices and reducing staff

  • Feels kinda cruel… like, I kinda like that my tax dollars funded that?

• Moved to repeal dozens of the nation’s most significant environmental regulations

FAVORS FOR FRIENDS

• Pardoned creator of Silk Road, a dark web marketplace

  • Ross Ulbricht was serving a life sentence but now he’s free

• Pardoned anti-abortion activists who blockaded a clinic in Washington, D.C.

  • Investigators found the remains of five fetuses in Lauren Handy’s home, but she also received a pardon

• Granted clemency to Lt. Andrew Zabavsky

• Granted clemency to Officer Terence Sutton

• Moved to dismiss criminal case against Mayor Adams of New York

  • Both quid pro quo and extortion at the same time

• Planned a $400 million order for armored vehicles from Tesla

  • Removed Tesla’s name a day later

• Moved to drop a lawsuit against a chemical manufacturer accused of releasing high levels of a likely carcinogen

• Dropped a Biden-era federal lawsuit against a chemical manufacturer

• Fired the Justice Department’s pardon attorney for refusing to recommend that Mel Gibson have his gun rights restored

  • Glad to see he’s rooting out the political weaponization of the Justice Department

• Promoted Tesla at the White House for Elon Musk

• Dropped a Biden-era lawsuit against Southwest Key Programs, a shelter provider for migrants accused of allowing its employees to abuse children

  • Why hold child abusers accountable? Silly. They DID move to keep all children out of those facilities in future, which is good.

BUSINESS BONANZA

• Initiated plans to open up fragile wilderness in Alaska for oil drilling and mining

  • I think a general disregard for Earth is pretty certain

• Withdrew proposal to take menthol cigarettes off the market

  • Also, any attempt to regulate industries selling dangerous things to people

• Hired chemical industry officials to oversee chemical safety rules

  • No conflicts of interest whatsoever

• Paused enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

  • This is a 40+ year old law that says businesses can’t bribe their way into new countries… but who needs it?

• Suspended enforcement of a part of a 2020 money laundering law that would require companies to disclose their ‘beneficial owners’

  • Dark money wins

PILFERING POWER

• Said California should not get federal aid for wildfires

  • Disaster aid should not be given based on your governor’s standing with the President.

• Froze foreign aid

  • Not within his power, but Congress let him do it

• Fired three democratic-selected members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties oversight board, a watchdog agency, leaving the agency unable to conduct business

  • Systematically eliminating checks and balances on his power

• Ordered funding withheld from public schools

  • 10 years ago, Republicans would have called this tyranny

• Threatened to withhold funding to sanctuary cities

• Fired the nation’s archivist

  • Raises concerns about what counts as facts these next few years

• 2/9 - Argued that the president has absolute powers over the executive branch that the courts cannot usurp

  • BIG GIANT WAVING RED FLAG

• Fired directors of the Office of Special Counsel and the Office of Government Ethics

  • Systematically eliminating checks and balances on his power

• Appointed loyalists as members of an independent advisory board on espionage policy

  • Systematically eliminating checks and balances on his power

• Ordered federal funding to be withheld from schools that require Covid vaccinations

  • 10 years ago, Republicans would have called this tyranny

• Moved to kill New York’s congestion pricing program

  • He’s not the President of New York, and this is a state issue….

• Targeted government officials who had been fighting foreign interference in U.S. elections

• Stripped security clearances of lawyers who helped Jack Smith, a former special counsel who investigated Trump

• Threatened to cut funding to schools that allow “illegal protests”

• Punished a law firm that worked for Democrats

  • Literally stripped security clearances and barred the lawyers from government buildings, rendering them pretty unable to do their job… sets a dangerous precedent and discourages people from fighting back.

• Restricted the actions of a law firm in a move seen as retribution for the firm’s past work against Jan. 6 rioters and its diversity policies

  • Three law firms so far, with promises to continue

DISREGARDING DEMOCRACY - Very Likely Illegal

• Pushed out a Treasury official for denying access to Elon Musk’s team

• Punished U.S.A.I.D. officials for denying access to Elon Musk’s team

• Fired the chairwoman of the Federal Election Commission

• Fired the inspector general for U.S.A.I.D.

• Exploited loopholes to continue to freeze government funding despite court orders

• Announced that the White House would handpick media outlets allowed into its press pool

  • Is this or is this not exactly what Republicans accused liberals of ten years ago? Making a safe space full of only those people who agree with you?

• Placed on leave an acting assistant administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development who warned that dismantling the agency would cause suffering

  • Part of a string of firings for people who spoke up or did their jobs.

• 3/2 - Bypassed Congress to send $4 billion in weapons to Israel for the second time in a month

• Used federal marshals to force a federal aid agency to let DOGE employees inside

  • That is literally tyrannical behavior, no?

• Arrested and sent to immigration detention a Palestinian activist at Columbia University who has legal permanent residency

  • He has not been charged with a crime; to date, the only thing he did was participate in the protests last year, and they are trying to deport him for it.

• Canceled all contracts with news wire services for Voice of America

  • 300 million listeners per week, originally created to combat Nazi propaganda.

• The president ordered deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used 1798 law.

  • Again, a federal judge clearly told him that the Act could not be invoked, because it’s a wartime authority and we are not at war with Venezuela. It’s wildly inappropriate to use this law.

• Sent hundreds of Venezuelans accused of being gang members to a prison in El Salvador, even after a federal judge ordered that the deportation flights not proceed.

  • This is unlawful. He is acting unlawfully.

• A surgeon and professor is deported to Lebanon despite a judge’s order.

  • This is unlawful. He is acting unlawfully.

He’s less than three months into a four-year term. The dust will settle eventually.

But when it does, will anything be left of what America was?

Thank you for being a subscriber to The Long Memo. If you like stories like this one, maybe it’s time to think about becoming a paid subscriber.