House Democrats howling over the flood of unilateral actions streaming from the White House are voicing confidence that the courts will provide a check on potential abuses of power.

They’re less certain, however, about how President Trump will respond.

Some Democrats say they trust the president to heed the courts even when judges rule against him, particularly if cases rise to the Supreme Court. Others say there’s no indication the administration feels bound by judiciary rulings at any level and fear that Trump will simply ignore unfavorable decisions.

As dozens of cases move their way through the courts, the chaos and uncertainty is triggering a kind of panic among those Democrats who see Trump as an autocratic figure with little regard for the balance of powers in Washington. Some are wondering what recourse remains if Trump does defy court orders in the pursuit of his agenda.

“That is what keeps me up at night, thinking about what will we end up as a nation? What will be left of our Constitution?” Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) said.

Amid the debate, all Democrats seem to agree on one thing: Capitol Hill Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, will provide no check on their White House ally, the Democrats charge, leaving all constitutional restraints on executive power to the judicial branch. Even then, many Democrats wonder if Republicans will honor the courts’ decisions — a skepticism inflamed by Trump’s denial of the 2020 election outcome and his more recent pardon of the Jan. 6 rioters.

“The Republican Party stands for: We trust the answer if it … is decided in our favor,” Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said this week. “They trust the election results when they win. They trust the court decision when they win.

“When they do not win, they want to burn it all down.”

To be sure, Trump heeded the courts in his first........

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