Trump’s executive strategy tests presidential powers

President Donald Trump has fired more than a dozen federal officials in less than a month into his presidency.

Several officials have filed lawsuits arguing these dismissals violate legal protections Congress established to prevent politically motivated firings.

A federal judge temporarily reinstated special counsel Hampton Dellinger , an appointee under former President Joe Biden , is among the officials filing lawsuits.

At the heart of Trump ’s strategy is a legal doctrine long embraced by conservative legal scholars.

The doctrine, known as the "unitary executive theory," asserts that the Constitution vests all executive power solely in the president.

The path toward the Supreme Court embracing such a theory is less clear, but some experts have said the culmination of cases challenging various actions Trump has enacted thus far could incentivize the court to address it.

Legal experts are sharply divided about whether the justices would be willing to reexamine the core understanding of the 14th Amendment that has long guaranteed citizenship to anyone born in the country regardless of the legal status of their parents.

Shu noted that challenges to Trump ’s executive orders on matters such as birthright citizenship could be viewed as part of a similar legal test over constitutional interpretation.