George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley appeared Thursday on Fox News and said that President Donald Trump’s approach in his second term “has everyone reeling.”
During an appearance on “The Ingraham Angle,” Turley commented on what he said was Trump’s second term strategy of unyielding legal challenges and executive actions that have the capital buzzing with anticipation and anxiety. Turley said that with a series of executive orders already causing a stir, Trump is positioning his administration to confront legal hurdles head-on, rather than avoid them.
“What’s different about this term, as opposed to the one that you and I helped cover the first time Trump was elected, is that Trump is wasting no time,” Turley said. “I mean, I got to tell you, the entire city is on edge. Just the pace of these changes, the flurry of executive orders, has everyone reeling. And there’s a reason for that. He knows that in the final two years of a second term presidency, everything slows down.”
Regarding the Democrats’ strategy, Turley predicts a continuation of forum shopping in circuits like the First Circuit in Boston or Rhode Island, which are perceived as more favorable grounds for challenging Trump’s policies.
“I think it will continue. The fact is that the president’s had a rough going with a lot of judges who were not particularly sympathetic when he was a candidate,” Turley said when Laura Ingraham asked if Democrats will continue to make things harder for Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). “But, ultimately, these cases have to go before the Supreme Court. We have a system of appeal.”
Musk’s DOGE initiative reduced various diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs across federal agencies. DOGE has also terminated leases for underused federal properties and is making efforts to consolidate agencies and initiatives that duplicate functions. Furthermore, under the direction of Trump and Musk, plans are underway to integrate the operations of the U.S. Agency for International Development into the State Department, which observers say will streamline international aid efforts, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio stepping in as acting director.
Featured Image Credit: The White House
