Since FDR we have had presidents who viewed the office as a COO (chief operating officer). This meaning Congress decided what was to be done and the President got it done, he "operated" what others decided.
Elect a former CEO like Trump and he is accustomed to deciding what is to be done. His model has been, "I will issue an executive order to have done whatever I decide, and at least some of the time the courts will back me up. If the courts say no, my attorneys will read the fine print and we'll try again, modified to deal with their objections." He had 48 months during Biden to develop his wish list of orders.
With Congress so closely divided, it has difficulty deciding most things. Their paralysis only encourages Trump taking charge and may encourage the courts to cut him some slack.
People who don't like what he's doing see an autocrat at work. People who like what he's doing and know the Congress is hobbled, see a CEO "taking care of the nation's business."
Meanwhile Sec. Pete Hegseth at DoW is busy making sure the generals (and admirals) who might sign onto a Seven Days in May coup scenario are headed for retirement.
My advice to frantic Democrats: take a deep breath, trust the political system. Trump won't become Mussolini in 28 months. The "ship of state" will survive this tempest, as it has previous ones.
So sayeth the emeritus Management prof.
