#Harvard also argued the #Trump admin had sped past ordinary procedures in its haste to punish Harvard. Lehotsky depicted the admin’s argument as an unbound approach to #ExecutivePower, one that would effectively allow presidents & their ofcls to do “whatever we want, whatever our priorities are,” without any meaningful guardrails.

Judge Burroughs seemed to share the worries of Lehotsky, who said the govt was pursuing an “anti-Harvard policy" that would be unlawful under any president.

Friday’s swap was a remarkable development after #Trump did not follow a #CourtOrder — issued as the planes were in flight or preparing for takeoff — to halt & reverse most of the removals in a high-stakes early bid to claim #ExecutivePower & prove he was serious about ridding the country of illegal immigrants. The admin never provided a complete list of their identities, & told a series of courts it had no #power to force or even ask #ElSalvador to return them.

Critics have accused the #Trump admin of flouting the #law in its aggressive use of #ExecutivePower, including by retaliating against perceived enemies & dismantling agencies created by #Congress.

The Trump admin has broadly defended its actions as within the legal bounds of #PresidentialPower & has won several early victories at #SCOTUS. A WH spox told Reuters that Trump's actions were legal, & declined to comment on the departures.

#RussVought has spearheaded the admin’s campaign to assert sweeping #ExecutivePower over #spending, arguing that the Impoundment Control Act, the #law at issue now, is *unconstitutional*.

The #Trump admin has *justified* its cost-cutting measures by pointing out that the #US is $36 trillion in debt, although the type of #funding that ofcls have targeted represents a small fraction of the overall #budget.

[& Trump’s budget outline is projected to increase the debt by trillions more]

An analysis by AP shows that 30 of #Trump’s 150 #ExecutiveOrders have cited some kind of #EmergencyPower or authority, a rate that far outpaces his recent predecessors.

The result is a redefinition of how presidents can wield #power. Instead of responding to an unforeseen crisis, Trump is using #EmergencyPowers to supplant #Congress’ authority & advance his agenda.

Judge Burroughs acted hours after #Harvard asked her to block the order on Thurs evening. In its request, part of an ongoing lawsuit, the #university also filed a new claim against the #Trump admin.

In court papers, Harvard accused the admin of trying to circumvent an earlier #CourtOrder that had blocked #DHS from banning international enrollment at Harvard. The university said Trump had violated the #law again by invoking his #ExecutivePower against the school when the agency’s efforts failed.

The proclamation blocked Thurs was issued just the day before. It was the 3rd time in a month that the #Trump admin has tried to use its power to ban #InternationalStudents at #Harvard in what the #university has said is a violation of its #FirstAmendment rights. But it was the 1st time Trump relied on #ExecutivePower rather than agency rules & actions, a sign of how personal the effort to inflict distress on the university has become for him.