Oath of Office
Contributed by Kassandra Rees
Oath: a formal promise made in the presence of an authority, often invoking a sacred witness, and carries legal or moral obligations.
January 20, 2025: Donald J. Trump, for the second time, solemnly swore his oath before Chief Justice John Roberts and the American People “… to PRESERVE, PROTECT and DEFEND the Constitution of the United States.”
May 4, 2025: Trump declares he isn’t sure The People are entitled to due process rights, guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. “I don’t know, I’m not, I’m not a lawyer.” No, he’s not a lawyer, but he is the President, and it is his sworn duty to preserve, protect and defend the guarantees written in our Constitution, including the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, both of which require that “due process of law” be part of any proceeding that denies a “citizen” or “any person” of “life, liberty, or property.”
Trump’s second 100 Days, a hurricane of policy changes and initiatives, have reshaped large swaths of federal policy impacting staffing, judicial philosophy and agency control. National and global responses followed with significant chilling effects on international relations, civil rights and economic indicators, including real-time, painful market reactions and altered diplomatic stances.
Illegal immigration was a policy priority - the promise to reassert control over US borders and reduce illegal immigration – and deportation was swiftly implemented.
March 15, 2025: American taxpayers paid $6m to send the first 300 prisoners to a notoriously cruel prison in El Salvador, followed by ghoulish photo ops and cruel videos. In the administration’s eagerness and rush to implement this policy, DUE PROCESS was ignored and denied. A terrifyingly brutal process, intended to capture and deport “criminal illegal immigrants,” quickly morphed to the point of terrorizing American citizens, including American children, who are also being deported to various locations.
April 14, 2025: Trump met with El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele asking for an additional five prisons to be built in El Salvador. Trump to Bukele: "Homegrowns are next. The homegrowns. You gotta build about five more places. It's not big enough." “Homegrowns” are United States citizens – not illegal immigrants. How would they become “criminals” without due process and conviction? The same way his first 300 prisoners were – they were accused, rounded up and disappeared.
Using the promise of bypassing “legislative gridlock,” Trump has moved quickly to consolidate his vision of executive authority expansion, and his blizzard of Executive Orders covers a wide range of policy areas, with clear evidence of the rapid erosion of checks and balances, accusations of executive overreach, and legal challenges.
Pushback against the chaos, confusion and destruction is coming from public, legal, and institutional sources. Judges, governors, and other elected officials who have attempted to curb this violent trend have been met with threats of retaliation from this administration, which publicly criticizes judges who have ruled against its policies. Notably, Trump called for Judge James Boasberg’s impeachment after he reprimanded the DOJ for noncompliance in deportation cases. Supreme Court Justice K. B. Jackson condemned the administration's rhetoric aimed at intimidating the judiciary, highlighting the dangers such attacks pose to democracy and the rule of law.
Executive Orders have been issued revoking security clearances and federal contracts from private law firms like Perkins Coie and Paul Weiss, which have represented clients opposing Trump. These actions have been criticized as attempts to intimidate the legal profession to deter lawyers from representing clients challenging the administration, undermining the right to legal counsel and access to justice.
Meanwhile, as Americans are taking to the streets to have their voices heard, 41 anti-protest bills have been introduced across 22 states, aiming to increase penalties for peaceful demonstrations. Further, the administration has taken steps against media outlets critical of its policies, including threats to revoke broadcast licenses, raising concerns about press freedom.
What is at stake here is what makes being an American so special – the protection of individual rights, due process of law, and judicial review, the core of the Rule of Law in America. The President and our Representatives (House and Senate) are elected officials who take the oath to PRESERVE, PROTECT and DEFEND the Constitution of the United States, which specifically lays out these protections for the People.
We the People are responsible for 1) electing people who are capable of doing the job and who are cognizant of their most important duties and responsibilities, 2) speaking out to hold our Representatives accountable, and 3) voting out Representatives who fail in their duties to us. The People’s voices must be heard – call, write, email your Representatives. Write letters to editors or post elsewhere and join groups that will help make your voice heard. Start today - tomorrow may be too late.
“No tree burns alone.” ~ Tyson Yunkaporta