The Imperial Presidency: Is Executive Power Out of Control?

Are checks and balances failing? Plus new This Week in Outrage episode.

For decades, power has been shifting toward the executive branch. But we may now be entering a new phase—one where the president is no longer constrained by the traditional checks and balances of the American system of government.

Imagine a president who defies court orders, systematically dismantles federal agencies, and overrides anti-corruption safeguards. Now stop imagining—it’s happening.

In this episode of Outrage Overload, we dive into the reality of executive overreach with two experts:

🔹 Professor Kevin Smith, a political scientist who has studied the role of federal agencies in governance.
🔹 James Goodwin, a legal expert specializing in constitutional law and public policy.

Together, we explore:

✅ Why bureaucracy exists—and why efficiency isn’t always the goal.
✅ How Congress has abdicated its responsibility to check executive power.
✅ The judiciary’s role in holding presidents accountable—and what happens when they’re ignored.
✅ What history and global democracies can teach us about the risks of centralizing power.

This isn’t about partisan politics. It’s about whether our democratic institutions can withstand the pressures of a growing imperial presidency—and what happens if they can’t.

So, where do we go from here? Can the courts, Congress, or the public push back against executive overreach? Or are we witnessing the slow erosion of democracy?

Join us for this urgent discussion.

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Democracy Docket

The section highlights the threats to democracy that we are keeping an eye on.

• Elon Musk’s Expanding Influence

  • Musk's increasing involvement in the Trump administration is shaping federal policies.

  • Concerns over his erratic decision-making, conflicts of interest, and his platform X’s role in disinformation.

  • His DOGE initiative is highlighting waste but also being used to push ideological spending cuts.

• Dismantling the CFPB

  • Musk and Trump are aggressively working to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

  • The move aligns with Musk’s business interests, which face ongoing CFPB investigations.

• January 6 Pardons & Ross Ulbricht

  • Trump issued blanket pardons for January 6 rioters, including violent offenders.

  • Pardoning Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road, raises questions about Trump’s ties to cryptocurrency.

• Alarming Cabinet Confirmations

  • Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Pete Hegseth have been confirmed to key government roles despite serious concerns over qualifications and policy stances.

  • Hegseth already made missteps in U.S.-Russia negotiations.

• Authoritarian Power Grab Over Independent Agencies

  • Trump signed an executive order bringing independent regulatory agencies, like the FCC and FEC, under White House control.

  • The order forces agency heads to align with the President’s interpretation of the law and subjects their budgets, rules, and policies to direct oversight.

  • The FEC, designed to be bipartisan and independent since Watergate, has already faced interference—Trump recently attempted to remove a Democratic commissioner without legal authority.

  • The legality of the EO is unclear, but if upheld, it marks a major erosion of agency independence.

• Authoritarian Tendencies & Crypto Corruption

  • Trump’s rhetoric and actions—targeting journalists, threatening DOJ purges—mirror authoritarian tactics.

  • His cryptocurrency venture is a major conflict of interest, opening the door for foreign influence.

• Congressional Inaction & Chaos

  • Republicans are ceding power to the executive branch, failing to assert congressional oversight.

  • Democrats appear disorganized, lacking strong opposition strategies.

• Trump Ties Disaster Aid to Voter ID Laws

  • Trump and GOP leadership floated withholding disaster relief for California unless voter ID laws were enacted.

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New This Week in Outrage Episode!

It’s everything the Outrage Overload podcast is not. It’s not edited. It’s not scripted. It’s lightly researched. It’s David and Lisa talking about this week in outrage, what was in the news, in the memes, and maybe finding some backstory with a humorous (at least to us) twist.