Constitution

Jeff Merkley Wants To Save Big Government From Donald Trump

The Oregon senator's "For Our Republic Act" would check many of the president's abuses while preserving the powerful federal state he commands.

Christian Britschgi | 8.14.2026 1:40 PM

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Jeff Merkley has a plan to save the republic from Donald Trump's "authoritarian playbook", or so says the senator from Oregon. 

"This is a president trying to become a strongman authoritarian," said Merkley on the On NOTUS podcast this week. "If we don't repair the Constitution, we don't have a republic."

His "For Our Republic Act", which was introduced earlier this month, is a sprawling piece of legislation that aims at reversing many of the president's claims of executive authority and clamping down on some of the more novel forms of corruption we've seen under the president's second term. 

Its proposed reforms range from moving immigration judges from the executive branch to the judicial branch, requiring congressional approval of executive-led department shutterings and reorganizations, and banning executive officers from trading in prediction markets and hawking crypto products. 

While Merkley claims the bill is intended to check all presidents, and not just the current one, the legislation does often read as a list of particular Democratic grievances against Trump. 

It would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from revoking broadcast licenses or taking action against broadcasters based on the viewpoints they broadcast, a clear nod to the commission's recent beefs with Jimmy Kimmel and The View. 

The legislation would........

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