St. Thomas forum takes critical look at Trump’s second term

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The United States faces what many consider a constitutional crisis unlike any seen since Confederate soldiers rousted Union defenders of Fort Sumter in South Carolina on April 12-13, 1861.

One hundred sixty-four years later, students gathered April 15 in Minneapolis with professors at the University of St. Thomas School of Law to talk about the first 100 days of the second Trump administration, inviting lawyers and students from other schools to attend.

A panel of professors shared their views: “We’re in crisis” seemed to be the consensus.

Professor Michael Paulsen, a scholar of constitutional interpretation, asked himself a few questions about some of President Donald Trump‘s actions on the order of “Is it constitutional to …,” then answered them saying “No!” or “Hell, no!”

He said there is an unconstitutional pattern of centralization of power and elimination or weakening of the checks and balances between the executive branch and the legislative and judicial branches at a time when Trump is preoccupied punishing his enemies. That, he said, raises serious concerns.

One was the  “deadly questions about immigration raised by the Trump administration,” said Professor Greg Sisk, who is also concerned about the emptying out of the Justice Department and whether trust in lawyers will erode.

Professor Charles Reid said the centralization of power includes the mass firing of probationary employees, and he discussed the case of Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, which said that agency heads could be dismissed only for cause.

Also participating were Professors Virgil Wiebe, Tom Berg, Teresa Collett.

Some professors spoke about their own politics, but not all did.

Collet introduced herself as “pro-life” and supportive of other conservative values. She has found in the last 100 days little more than theories and claims. But  one of the main points in her discussion was that Congress is “missing in action.” No one disagreed, at least not out loud. Congress needs to do its job, she said. “It’s time for the grown-ups to act.”