Donald Trump’s Constitutional Violations (non-exhaustive list)
- carrieshawmiller
- Jan 28
- 18 min read
(Sources listed at the end)
U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released a new report detailing how the Trump Administration has seized key Congressional powers, defied federal court orders, and retaliated against critics. The report examines how the Administration’s unprecedented actions across the federal government threaten the rule of law and constitutional protections:
Full Report & Executive Summary can be found here: https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/media/dems/peters-releases-new-report-detailing-trump-administrations-unprecedented-constitutional-violations-and-executive-overreach/
“This report clearly lays out President Trump’s lawlessness and campaign of intimidation as the Administration has taken unprecedented action to sidestep the Constitution. Since taking office, President Trump and his Administration have usurped key congressional powers – freezing federal funds authorized by Congress AND dismantling federal agencies created by Congress. He has also unlawfully removing Inspectors General tasked with conducting independent and nonpartisan oversight. Not only does the Trump Administration’s seizure of Congressional powers directly threaten foundational principles of our government, its actions carry far reaching consequences on our national security, health security, and emergency preparedness.” -U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
In addition to this report, many civil‑liberties groups and courts have identified specific practices of the Trump administration as violations of constitutional protections. Specific constitutional violations include, but are not limited to:
VIOLATIONS OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” AND OF THE FIFTH AMENDMENT: “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; no shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
Trump has intimidated major news outlets, defunded public media and made it increasingly difficult for journalists to report on his government, even threatening to jail reporters who won't identify government sources. The Trump administration has systematically erased parts of American history in the nation's museums. The First Amendment prohibits the government from mandating a speech code and from prohibiting free association for the public. Because these actions were also taken as punishments to their targets, they also violate the Fifth Amendment, which prohibits the government from punishing people and privately held organizations without due process of law.
Punishing Universities: Trump pursues vendettas against leading universities, which he alleges aren’t cracking down on (violating the free speech rights of) peaceful pro-Palestinian protesters. His actions feature yanking all the federal research grants they get, and, in Harvard’s case, actually trying to ban it from accepting foreign students. In another constitutional violation Ed Martin, Trump’s controversial interim U.S. Attorney for D.C., warned top law schools “to end diversity, equity, and inclusion programs or their graduates would be blacklisted from Justice Department jobs.” Trump cites two Supreme Court rulings, overturning affirmative action in college admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, as justification for banning DEI programs government-wide, including in firms and universities that receive federal grants and money.
Punishing Public Schools: Trump’s Education Department—or what’s left of it—sent word to school districts nationwide to shut their DEI programs or face the loss of federal Title I student aid to schools with high shares of poor kids.
Punishing Television Stations: Trump has threatened to revoke the Broadcast licenses of TV stations that report unfavorably about him. The ordered the FCC to target Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel—two late night comedians—for making jokes about Donald Trump. Stephen Colbert’s show is cancelled.
Punishing Jack Smith: Trump called Jack Smith, former special counsel, a “criminal” and said “he should be put in prison” after Jack Smith did his job and gathered evidence that Donald Trump worked to overturn the 2020 Presidential election and mishandled classified documents. Jack Smith, testifying before the House Judiciary Committee: “I made my decision without regard to President Trump’s politics, associations, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 election. President Trump was charged because the evidence established that he willfully broke the law—the very laws that he took an oath to uphold.”
Punishing Lawmakers: Ed Martin, Trump’s controversial interim U.S. Attorney for D.C. “sent letters to Democratic members of Congress and senators purporting to investigate their public political speech as criminal threats” which is a violation of the First Amendment and of the Constitution’s “speech and debate clause” protecting lawmakers from being sued for whatever they say in Congress.
VIOLATIONS OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT (see above) & THE FIFTH AMENDMENT (see above) & THE SIXTH AMENDMENT: “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.”
Punishing Law Firms: The Trump administration used the powers of the federal government to target lawyers in a manner that violated the First Amendment (retaliation and viewpoint discrimination), the Fifth Amendment (equal protection and due process), and the Sixth Amendment (right to counsel). Trump punished the law firms for defending his opponents by restricting their rights to practice in front of the government and threatening to cut off their clients. One federal judge stated, “using the powers of the federal government to target lawyers for their representation of clients and avowed progressive employment policies in an overt attempt to suppress and punish certain viewpoints is contrary to the Constitution.” In addition to freedom of speech, the First Amendment guarantees the right to "petition the government for a redress of grievances." Trump's order blatantly violates that right as well. Several law firms have obtained court orders barring Trump from abusing his authority to punish law firms for representing his political opponents, supporting causes he does not like, or employing attorneys who have crossed him. U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon says Trump's order against the law firm WilmerHale defies the First Amendment in four ways, violates the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of due process in two ways, unconstitutionally interferes with the right to legal representation, and flouts the separation of powers. "The cornerstone of the American system of justice is an independent judiciary andan independent bar willing to tackle unpopular cases, however daunting," Leon writes. "In the nearly 250 years since the Constitution was adopted no Executive Order has been issued challenging these fundamental rights. Now, however, several Executive Orders have been issued directly challenging these rights and that independence. One of these Orders is the subject of this case. For the reasons set forth below, I have concluded that this Order must be struck down in its entirety as unconstitutional."
VIOLATIONS OF THE FOURTH AMENDMENT: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probably cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Privacy Violations: “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) teams seized sensitive confidential financial information about individuals from the IRS, medical information from the Department of Health and Human Services, and data about labor law cases from the Labor Department, among others. This is a violation of the Fourth Amendment right to privacy: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated” except when there’s “probable cause” backed by sworn search warrants. DOGE, of course, had neither.
Warrant Violations by ICE Agents: ICE agents have been forcing their way into homes and cars without judicial warrants, and ICE officers have asserted sweeping power to enter homes without a judge’s warrant, all of which is unconstitutional.
VIOLATIONS OF THE FIFTH AMENDMENT: “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; no shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
Kilmar Abrego Garcia: The US government deported Maryland resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, defying a Supreme Court order in April to facilitate his return to the United States. Before Scotus ruled on the case, Maryland District Judge Paula Xinis reached the same decision and said Abrego Garcia was “apprehended without legal basis … and without due process”.
Liam Conejo Ramos: ICE agents detained 5-year-old Liam Conejo-Ramos and his father in Minnesota and sent them to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Dilley, Texas where DHS tried to deport them. The Ramos family's attorney says the family is in the country legally as they pursue a claim for asylum, they have shown up for their court hearings, they have no criminal history, and they pose no safety threat.
Alien Enemies Act & CECOT: The Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act to have ICE agents summarily remove and deport people—alleged Venezuelan gang members—without due process of law, as the Constitution’s 5th Amendment guarantees. A Ronald Reagan-named judge stated that Alien Enemies Act can only be invoked in times of “declared war or invasion or predatory incursion…an invasion is a military affair, not one of immigration.” Yet, in March 2025, about 240 Venezuelan immigrants in the United States were flown to El Salvador in the dead of night and indefinitely imprisoned at the notorious Salvadoran mega-prison CECOT, the Terrorism Confinement Center, without trials, convictions, or due process. No judges convicted them of anything, yet they were sent to be imprisoned indefinitely in a prison system where we know the human rights violations have been systematic. None of them were permitted any opportunity to challenge their designation as a gang member, they were simply hustled onto planes and sent to El Salvador before they knew what was happening. While the planes were in mid-air, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to turn the planes around. The Trump administration refused. This defiance has since become the subject of a criminal contempt proceeding which is currently on pause at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. But in the months since then, the Supreme Court has made definitively clear that the men were denied due process. For four months, the men were held incommunicado in CECOT without any access to the outside world. The New York Times, Human Rights Watch, and 60 Minutes all found compelling, corroborated, independent testimony and evidence of torture at CECOT. The New York Times interviewed 40 detainees who “described being beaten, sexually assaulted by guards, and driven to the brink of suicide.” The canceled and now leaked 60 Minutes report notes that the CECOT prison director even appears to brag about abuse:
Now, thanks to a prisoner exchange carried out on July 18, the men have been flown from El Salvador to Venezuela in exchange for Venezuela releasing 10 U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents held as political prisoners. However, their ongoing fate remains unclear. They aren’t terrorists or security threats to the United States. Many of them are migrants seeking protection. Nineteen of them had suffered persecution directly in Venezuela before they left the country, and 65 of them were in the United States and had open asylum claims pending when they were forcibly removed. Most if not all these men had no connections to Tren de Aragua at all but had been falsely identified as such by low-level DHS officers. These men were labeled gang members based on flimsy evidence, or even outright errors. DHS used a “validation guide” which permitted people to be “validated” as gang members based solely on tattoos, clothing, or even being seen in a photograph with someone else DHS believed to be a gang member. At the time, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) labeled these individuals “the worst of the worst criminals.” But this month, DHS started uploading the names of arrested immigrants whom it now considers “the worst of the worst.” This database now includes nearly 15,000 names, including people convicted of low-level offenses, such as drug possession, traffic infractions, and minor immigration offenses. None of the CECOT deportees appear in the DHS database.
VIOLATIONS OF THE TENTH AMENDMENT: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
National Guard Deployment: Trump has deployed the US Military into American Cities against the wishes of the Governors. He has stated that he wants to use American cities as “training grounds” to prepare troops to fight in their own cities against Americans. He decreed that every state National Guard should train fast reaction teams to respond to protests in their own states. Multiple observers, including constitutional scholars and civil liberties groups, warned that attempts to deploy federal military or National Guard forces in domestic policing roles risk violating the Constitution’s civil-military boundaries and statutes such as the Posse Comitatus framework; local officials and some judges said proposed deployments lacked legal justification.
VIOLATIONS OF THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT: “Section 1: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” (Birthright Citizenship)
Trump signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship. This executive order has been widely criticized as unconstitutional and illegal. Multiple federal district courts and the ACLU have blocked the order, arguing that it violates the 14th Amendment and federal law. The ACLU has also sued the Trump administration on behalf of organizations whose children will be denied citizenship under the order. Legal scholars and constitutional experts agree that Trump cannot end birthright citizenship with an executive order, as it would require a constitutional amendment with a two-thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate and approval by three-quarters of US states. The attempt to revoke birthright citizenship has been called an "attack on newborns and future generations of Americans" and a "blatant violation of our Constitution." It has also been noted that ending birthright citizenship could create a "permanent subclass of people born in the US who are denied full rights as Americans." Prior to his second inauguration, Trump told Meet the Press that “we have to end [the amendment]” and falsely claimed America is “the only country that has it”. Brazil, Canada, Jamaica and Mexico are also among those which provide unconditional birthright citizenship.
VIOLATIONS OF THE RULE OF LAW: Trump has liberally used the pardon power to the benefit of allies, including those who were convicted of violent crimes during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Federal judges have accused the Trump administration of defying their orders on several occasions.
First Impeachment: On December 19, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted two articles of impeachment against Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. On February 5, 2020, the U.S. Senate voted to acquit Trump on both articles of impeachment. Trump's first impeachment took place after a formal House inquiry found that he had solicited foreign interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election from Russia to help his re-election bid and had then obstructed the inquiry itself by telling his administration officials to ignore subpoenas for documents and testimony. The inquiry reported that Trump withheld military aid and an invitation to the White House from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in order to influence Ukraine to announce an investigation into Trump's political opponent Joe Biden, and to promote a discredited conspiracy theory that Ukraine–not Russia–was behind interference in the 2016 presidential election.
January 6th Insurrection Attempt: On January 6, 2021, Trump attempted to obstruct a joint session of Congress in which electoral votes were to be counted and Democrat Joe Biden was to be certified as the winner of the 2020 election by summoning his supporters to Washington on that very day and pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to delay the certification of the election results, despite being told by aides that there was no fraud that could have affected the outcome. A violent mob of Trump supporters then raided the U.S. Capitol. They were armed with weapons. They smeared human feces on the walls of the Capitol. Republican, Democratic, and Independent Congresspeople feared for their lives. They threatened to hang Vice President Mike Pence. Capitol Police Officers were heinously attacked. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick was struck with a fire extinguisher, sprayed with a chemical irritant, and suffered two strokes immediately after the riot and died. Four Capitol Police Officers committed suicide due to the physical and emotional trauma they experienced on January 6, 2021: Howard Liebengood, Jeffrey Smith, Gunther Hashida, and Kyle DeFreytag.
Second Impeachment: On January 13, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted one article of impeachment against Trump of incitement of insurrection, stating that he had incited the January 6 attack of the U.S. Capitol. On February 13, 2021, the U.S. Senate voted to acquit Trump on the article of impeachment. On August 1, 2023, a grand jury indicted former US President Donald Trump on four charges, including obstructing an official proceeding and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.
Pardoning Insurrectionists: On January 20, 2025, Trump granted blanket clemency to the nearly 1,600 people convicted of or awaiting trial for offenses related to the January 6th, including 600 who had been convicted of or plead guilty to assault of or obstructing law enforcement and 170 of using a deadly weapon. According to Trump, they were "patriots" and "hostages” and “Peaceful people, these were great people peacefully protesting a stolen election. I have never seen such spirit and such passion and such love…Capitol Hill police officers instigated the violence that day.”
Pardoned Insurrectionists Commit Heinous Crimes: Some of the January 6th insurrectionists that Trump pardoned have since been arrested and/or convicted for other crimes:
1. Soliciting a minor
2. Plotting to murder FBI agents that investigated him
3. Causing a drunk driving accident that killed one person and injured another
4. Illegal gun possession given his felony record of domestic violence and strangulation
5. Possession of child sexual abuse material
6. Reckless homicide and driving under the influence
7. Sexually assaulting a seven year old
8. Illegal gun possession and making a threat to blow up the National Institute of Standards and Technology
9. Burglary, grand theft and possession of stolen property
10. Home invasion and theft
OVER-REACH & CHECKS AND BALANCES VIOLATIONS: The Trump Administration’s failure to comply with court orders threatens the separation of powers embedded in our Constitution and the rule of law. Aided by a pliant Republican-led Congress, Trump and his administration have numerous times stretched the power of the executive branch into areas of governance normally reserved for the legislative branch. Reaching far beyond its Executive authorities and threatening key Constitutional rights, the Trump Administration has targeted and retaliated against those who disagree with it, attacking individuals who voice criticism, including former federal officials, those who have represented or employed individuals who expressed viewpoints adverse to it, and elected public officials of the opposing political party who exercised their constitutionally protected rights to conduct oversight. These actions threaten the foundational principles in our Constitution.
Failure to Comply with Court Orders: More than 350 lawsuits have been filed against the Administration and in numerous lawsuits, judges appointed by presidents of both parties have ordered the Administration to halt unlawful actions that violate federal laws and our Constitution. In several instances, the Administration has failed to comply with court rulings, including rulings directing the Administration to halt firings at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, halt freezes of Congressionally appropriated funds, and halt deportations of noncitizens without due process.
Inspectors General & Federal Departments: Checks on a president's power, such as federal inspectors general and agency appointees who previously were insulated from White House influence, have been sidelined or removed. Trump removed many inspectors general without statutorily required notice. The Trump administration has remade or demolished whole federal departments
Withholding money Congress appropriated: Nixon tried this, too, and Congress struck back in 1973 with the anti-Impoundment Act. Trump’s doing it now. Trump attempted to freeze or reprogram funds without following the Impoundment Control Act procedures. These moves breach statutory checks designed to protect separation of powers and congressional appropriations authority. Trump aides have pulled back funds appropriated by lawmakers, who constitutionally control federal purse strings.“The Trump Administration is breaking the law and undermining the Constitution every day by illegally stealing funds for the programs that help American families and businesses, firing career civil servants without cause, and dismantling agencies created by acts of Congress,” says Representative Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut. “If presidents can decide when to spend and not spend all on their own, then Congress becomes little more than an advisory body to a monarch. Certainly that’s what the framers thought. The budget office’s order fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government, especially Congress’s power of the purse” the Brennan Center for Law and Justice adds.
Using tariffs as a bargaining bludgeon: The president has implemented sweeping foreign tariffs against enemies and allies alike, while claiming, with little evidence, that his high tariffs, especially against China, will bring factory jobs back to the U.S. The Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to lay and collect tariffs.
Violating the War Powers Clause: Donald Trump bombed Iran, violating the Constitution’s War Powers clause, which reserves to Congress the power to declare war.
VIOLATING THE EMOLUMENTS CLAUSE
Despite his widespread private holdings in commercial real estate, condominiums, hotels, and golf courses here and around the world, Trump refuses to follow the lead of his predecessors by selling his assets and placing the proceeds in a blind trust. Instead, he has transferred management, but not ownership, of the Trump Organization. He retains his ownership in full. And he has assigned operational responsibility not to an independent arm’s-length trustee, but to his sons, Eric and Donald Jr.. The Constitution subjects the president to a conflict-of-interest law: the “emoluments” clause. That clause provides that no federal officeholder may, absent express approval by Congress, accept “any present, emolument,…of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” According to the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel in 1981, an “emolument” is any “profit or gain arising from station, office, or employment: reward, remuneration, salary.” As the reference to “salary” or “gain” suggests, the prohibition is not limited to outright gifts, but includes payments for services rendered or profit from ordinary business transactions. This clause is designed to ensure that federal officials, from the president on down, serve only the interest of the American public, and are not compromised by foreign influence. Recognizing that divided loyalties are difficult to discern, that self-interest is an extremely powerful motivator, and that foreign states may seek to buy influence, the Framers chose to ban all presents or “emoluments…of any kind whatever.” The sole exception was where Congress expressly authorized a transaction, presumably on the theory that such a public and transparent accounting would reduce the risk of corruption and undue influence. In a comprehensive and persuasive report published in December by the Brookings Institution, Norman Eisen and Richard Painter, former ethics experts for Presidents Obama and George W. Bush, respectively, along with the Harvard constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe, warned that “never before in American history has a president-elect presented more conflict of interest questions and foreign entanglements than Donald Trump.” In their view, one shared by many constitutional law and ethics experts, the only way for Trump to avoid receiving benefits from foreign governments or their agents, given his far-flung business interests, would be to sell his business and create a blind trust for his assets—as Trump’s predecessors have done upon assuming office. As the arrangement now stands, Trump retains full ownership in his businesses, and therefore profits from ongoing business with foreign agents seeking to curry favor. He can use the power of the presidency to benefit his own corporate brand. The only thing that is “blind” about this scheme is the fact that virtually everyone outside the Trump family will continue to be in the dark about the details of Trump’s foreign business ties. As we know all too well, foreign influence is not a speculative or abstract concern when it comes to this president. The Framers considered this prohibition so important that they deemed its violation to be grounds for impeachment. The president of the United States is supposed to serve the American people, not himself, and certainly not the interests of foreign states. President Trump chose to seek this office, and this responsibility. He is trying to have it both ways, serving himself, his family, and his far-flung business interests while simultaneously making foreign and domestic policy decisions that will inevitably have direct effects on his personal holdings. That way lies scandal, corruption, and illegitimacy. Unfortunately, Trump has deliberately chosen to undermine the interests of the people he represents in order to further the interests of the one person he cares about most. Trump has taken other steps to consolidate power and demonstrate that he alone is in charge. His name and face seem to be everywhere. He receives fawning foreign visitors bearing gifts for him in a newly gold-adorned Oval Office. He has used cryptocurrencies to enrich himself while President, and he has accepted a billion dollar gift from a foreign government that he plans to keep. Trump's properties have charged the government over $1.1 million since his presidency began, with the Secret Service renting a three-bedroom cottage for $17,000 per month at the Bedminster club. Additionally, political contributions and campaign spending at Trump properties during his presidency are estimated at $10-17 million. China's preliminary approval of 38 trademarks in Trump's name for various businesses, including hotels and restaurants, further highlighted conflict of interest concerns. In 2024, the New York Times and ProPublica reported that the Internal Revenue Service investigated whether Trump had improperly written off losses related to his Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago. The publications estimated that the revision sought by the IRS could result in a new tax bill of over $100 million, plus interest and penalties.
Constitutional Violations Sources:
CECOT Sources:
January 6th Sources:
They May Not Be Constitutional Violations, But Here Are Some of Donald Trump’s Degrading and Defamatory Rhetoric That Make Him Unfit To Be President (non-exhaustive list):
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