While the Republican-controlled Congress and Supreme Court remain unwilling or unable to forcibly rein in Donald Trump's worst excesses, his actions in the year to come "could make 2025 a calm sea by comparison," according to a new analysis published by The Hill.
Trump marked his first year back in the White House by consistently pushing the boundaries of presidential authority and grabbing for any and all power that he could. The typical guard rails against such behavior have proved ineffective, with the House and Senate GOP majorities seemingly content to let Trump do as he pleases. The majority conservative Supreme Court has also regularly ruled in favor of the president, and even when they have gone against him, Trump has ignored the rulings.
Writing for The Hill on Monday, Harlan Ullman, a veteran policy and business adviser, as well as a regular opinion columnist for the outlet, predicted that Trump's behavior in 2026 could continue apace and even make 2025 seem tame, due to Congress and the courts being unwilling or unable to stop him in any meaningful way. Even a strong Democratic swing in the midterms, he argued, could possibly give the party enough power to fully rein Trump in.
"The Supreme Court has no police force or army to impose its rulings," Ullman wrote. "A Republican controlled Congress still is in the process of backbone restoration that is unlikely to be completed in time to enforce any Court ruling. Hence, how can there be a constitutional crisis if or when the president is allowed to ignore the court?"
He continued: "The answer is that there will be no crisis, unless or until Congress changes control. Unless Democrats win control of both Houses next year, the Republican Senate will prevent it. If Democrats do win both Houses, unless they build a 60-seat Senate majority (which no one thinks possible), the filibuster will not be overridden."
Ullman also touched on Trump's recent trend of flouting the law to put his name on famed Washington, D.C., institutions, as well as his introduction of a planned "Trump-class" battleships, which experts argue are unlikely to ever see action. As Trump's whims remain unrestrained by any other authority but his own, he mused about what other things might get renamed next year.
"The Institute of Peace and Kennedy Center now bear the Trump name as does the proposed new class of battleships," Ullman added. "One wonders what John Paul Jones and other naval heroes must think about that. Imagine if the late John McCain (R-Ariz.) still strode the halls of the Senate. Yet, there is a tempting target for a name change.'
He continued: "Will the nation’s capital become Washington, District of Trump? Or just Trump, DC? Since the Washington Redskins became the Commanders, perhaps they should be renamed again — the 'Washington Trumpers has a certain ring to it, almost as good as 'Gulf of America.'"
