Militant Democracy vs. Originalist Authority: Trump and the Courts

This paper examines the growing divide within the U.S. federal judiciary during the Trump presidency, focusing on the tension between the “militant resistance” of lower federal courts and the increasingly originalist and deferential orientation of the Supreme Court. Through the analysis of key cases—such as the litigation over the “Muslim Ban” and the more recent Trump v. Casa decision— the paper explores how judicial reactions to executive overreach reflected a broader institutional struggle over the limits of presidential power and the balance of the constitutional system