How Donald Trump Could Both Revolutionize the Judiciary And Destroy It

The fact that Judge Neil Gorsuch had to criticize the man who nominated him to the Supreme Court perfectly encapsulates the horrifying tension between Donald Trump’s power to shape the judiciary and his inclination to trammel over it. Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick, host of the podcast Amicus, joins the New Republic’s Brian Beutler to discuss the crisis of authority facing the courts and to the crumbling distinction between law and politics that could define the Trump era.

Further reading:

• Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!

• Dahlia and Mark Joseph Stern ponder whether the courts will stand by as Trump attempts to nullify judicial review.

• Brian Beutler argues that democracy could fail if Trump’s efforts to blame the courts for future terrorist attacks doesn’t backfire.