Three months into the Trump administration, the rule of law in our nation is being tested in unprecedented ways as an avalanche of executive orders and declarations ignores both statutory and constitutional requirements. The White House is waging a campaign of intimidation and retribution intended to silence critics and remove opposition both within and outside the government.

The scale of the administration’s actions is staggering and transforming our national government by fiat.

Controlled by narrow republican majorities, both houses of Congress have remained on the sidelines. The absence of congressional response places a heavy burden on the courts. Although there is a daily flow of developments, here is a preliminary assessment of the performance of the courts in checking executive abuse and upholding the rule of law.

More than 100 lawsuits have been filed challenging President Trump’s executive orders. Federal district judges have risen to the occasion, issuing dozens of preliminary rulings pausing the administration’s actions while they consider the lawsuits on their merits. These rulings have largely been upheld by the federal courts of appeals that have ruled on them.

The administration has responded with ad hominem attacks on individual judges, threats against lawyers, suggestions that it need not follow judicial orders and talk of impeachment and cutting of judicial powers. But district judges across the country have remained firm.

The administration has complained that the scope of the injunctions issued by the lower courts is an intrusion into the domain of the executive branch. The reality is that their broad sweep reflects the far-reaching illegality of the........

© The Hill