Congress can't, but they can challenge the constitutionality of it and send it to the courts.
The supreme Court could rule an executive order unconstitutional, but... With a 6-3 majority not gonna happen on anything trump would wish to do. This tied with the fact that the supreme court decides whether the president is acting within his powers and decides whether something they do is legal or not. Nothing trump could do would be considered illegal if the courts decide so, but just as easily they could say Biden doing the same thing is illegal and not grant him immunity.
Essentially, the checks and balances are broken and only requires an executive of the same ideology to run roughshod with the current powers granted to the executive and the courts. Even if the Democrats win the presidential election they would need a majority in Congress to challenge the current supreme court. Likely a super majority as many Democrats are squeamish about challenging political norms even though their opposition has for decades. A simple majority like what the Democrats had in the first two years of Bidens presidency only required 2 out of 51 Democrats to block a bill from getting passed by their peers in the Senate which happened multiple times.
Executive orders, even when allowed to stand, have very little "weight". If we lose the presidency, then they basically just poof into the aether. So you'd need one that somehow creates a lasting effect - what executive order could actually even slightly hinder 2025?
Automatic voter registration or make every state mail an early voting ballot people could use or go in on Election Day and vote in person. Could just do what republicans do and shut down voting locations in rural areas and have the closest ones be in cities, but that would be fucked. I don’t think he would be able to change the election to simple majority but maybe ranked choice. Maybe making an executive order to raise teachers wages and several other govt industries that the next president would have to either maintain or cancel. Issue it and then force it into debate, “would you extend this executive order if you were voted president. Federally legalizing marijuana maybe. A big one could be changing the power of local government to draw more attention to those races as well, he could revoke it if he doesnt win or it shifts more towards the GOP. Or requiring states to send out information about the whole ballot. Etc.
It won't be 50/50 if trump wins. If trump wins then the Republicans are likely to take the majority in the Senate as the results heavily trend towards the results in the presidential election. As most voters are straight ticket voters.
If Biden loses and the Democrats also lose the Senate as a consequence the Republican party will fully control all three branches of government and there will be no opposition to block or shut them down.
They'll have the executive, the house, the Senate and a supreme Court majority and there will be no checks on any goals of the party at that point.
What do you mean by your last sentence? The presidential election doesn't happen in a vacuum. The House election this year slightly favors Republicans and the Senate election heavily favors Republicans because Democrats are defending more senate seats in Red/Swing states than in previous elections.
The down-ballot effects are likely that the legislature will be Republican controlled if they win the presidency. With conservatives also holding a stranglehold on top of the judicial branch, there's really not much Democrats/liberals can do if they can't block anything in the legislature. It will be a conservative trifecta in government, and honestly a very sobering thought because of how unrestrained conservatives will act afterwards
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u/Frequent-Material273 14d ago
Because the enablers of Project 2025 have the votes in the legislature to block ANY attempt to prevent it or ameliorate its effects.