Constitutional crisis: Donald Trump tramples on the separation of powers, until when?

Is there a “constitutional crisis” in the United States? In any case, a real legal debate is underway over the nature of the separation of powers, the famous system of “checks and balances” for which America is known to constitutionalists around the world. Experts disagree over whether the system is simply working as it should – the executive branch makes decisions, and if these are unconstitutional, judges will block them – or whether Donald Trump’s executive orders defy all legality and cannot be challenged in court.

Barely twenty-five days after coming to power for the second time, Donald Trump made it known, via social networks, that "he who saves his country breaks no law", a Napoleonic maxim similar to the principle of irresponsibility of the head of state, "the king can do no wrong". This position is reinforced by the very broad interpretation that the Supreme Court gave to presidential immunity in 2024 in a case Donald Trump v. the United States. It echoes Carl Schmitt's vision according to which once the emergency is decided by the head of state, the constitutional rules are suspended in favor of a derogatory regime justified by the