Professor Matthew Green of The Catholic University of America is concerned about the lasting constitutional and moral implications of the executive branch's unchecked speed and unilateral actions. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on February 20th that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority by using emergency powers to implement new, aggressive tariffs. Following the ruling, Trump criticized the decision and publicly questioned the loyalty of two appointed justices. Trump indicated an intention to pursue "very powerful alternatives" to the blocked trade policy.
11 days ago
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on February 20, 2026, that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority by using emergency powers to impose new tariffs.1
Trump quickly criticized the decision, calling two of his appointees "disloyal," and hinted at pursuing alternatives.1
Since returning to office in January 2025, Trump has signed 243 executive orders, 128 proclamations, and 57 memoranda by February 19, 2026.1
This pace exceeds recent presidents, though below FDR's record, emphasizing speed and unilateral control.1
Catholic University politics professor Matthew Green labels Trump the "loophole president," exploiting legal ambiguities for unilateral action.1
In a February 19 lecture, Green argued the modern presidency enables such leaders, citing Trump's preference for solo decision-making.1
Green references James Comey's "bungee jump" and Gabe Fleisher's "sandcastle presidency" metaphors for Trump's fast but reversible actions.1
He warns of non-partisan risks, imagining a President Ocasio-Cortez using similar tactics against conservatives.1
Trump's orders target immigration (border enforcement, asylum, refugees), health regulations, energy policy, and trade rules.1
Prior presidents like Obama (DACA) and Biden (student loans) used executive power, but Green calls Trump's approach "on steroids."1
The administration faces over 660 lawsuits, with 217 plaintiff wins as of recent counts.1
Green views this as evidence of inter-branch power struggles, advocating for stronger Congress, limited emergencies, and better candidate selection.1
Catholic voters remain split: Trump's court picks advanced anti-abortion goals, but immigration and welfare policies clash with social teaching.1
Green stresses the Constitution requires enforcement beyond paper, urging long-term reforms beyond any single president.1
Investigate the Catholic Church’s teachings on executive authority limits
The Catholic Church teaches that executive authority, as part of political power, is fundamentally ordered to the common good and inherently limited by the moral law, the principle of subsidiarity, respect for individual and intermediate freedoms, and the distinction between temporal and spiritual realms. Authority is not absolute but serves the human person and must guarantee conditions for freedom while avoiding overreach into areas proper to individuals, families, civil society, or the Church.
Catholic social doctrine insists that all political authority, including executive power, must operate within the limits of the moral order. It is not an end in itself but a means to promote justice, the common good, and human dignity. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explicitly states: "Political authority must be exercised within the limits of the moral order and must guarantee the conditions for the exercise of freedom." This underscores that executive actions cannot transgress natural law or divine law.
Furthermore, no earthly authority demands absolute submission. From the Church's earliest teachings, Christ's lordship implies that human freedom submits ultimately to God alone: "From the beginning of Christian history, the assertion of Christ's lordship over the world and over history has implicitly recognized that man should not submit his personal freedom in an absolute manner to any earthly power, but only to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Caesar is not 'the Lord'." Executive authority is thus relativized; it serves as God's minister but forfeits legitimacy when it violates moral norms.
The Church has historically fostered civil liberty, supporting self-government and independence from despotic power, provided justice is upheld. Yet, this liberty is bounded: the Catholic Encyclopedia clarifies that while Church and State spheres are distinct—the temporal for the State, the spiritual for the Church—executive overreach into spiritual matters or abuse of temporal power undermines civil order itself.
A cornerstone limit on executive authority is the principle of subsidiarity, which prohibits higher authorities from usurping functions proper to lower communities (individuals, families, civil society). Pope John Paul II in Centesimus Annus emphasizes that the State exists to protect rights, not stifle them: "the individual, the family and society are prior to the State, and inasmuch as the State exists in order to protect their rights and not stifle them." The State's role is instrumental, intervening only when necessary and respecting sectoral autonomy.
This extends to economic and social spheres. The executive must guarantee stability, private property, and public services but cannot control all aspects of life: "The State could not directly ensure the right to work for all its citizens unless it controlled every aspect of economic life and restricted the free initiative of individuals." Excessive intervention, as in the "Welfare State" or "Social Assistance State," leads to loss of human energies and bureaucratic dominance, violating subsidiarity: "a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life of a community of a lower order, depriving the latter of its functions."
Pope Benedict XVI reinforces this in Caritas in Veritate, advocating a multi-layered economy where State, market, and civil society interact without one dominating: "Solidarity is first and foremost a sense of responsibility on the part of everyone with regard to everyone, and it cannot therefore be merely delegated to the State." Justice requires gratuitousness from the outset, not just State redistribution.
Executive authority must direct society toward the common good, defending goods markets cannot handle, such as the environment or basic rights. Yet limits persist: "there are collective and qualitative needs which cannot be satisfied by market mechanisms... [but] these mechanisms carry the risk of an 'idolatry' of the market." The State oversees but prioritizes individual initiative.
In development, executives promote solidarity through taxes and collaboration but avoid technocracy: "Economics and technology are meaningless if they do not benefit man, for it is he they are to serve." Authentic progress fosters the whole person, not mere growth.
The Church-State distinction prevents executive encroachment on religious freedom. Temporal power respects the Church's independence, as Gallican errors illustrated; conflicts arise from abuse, not principle. Obedience is owed unless the State violates natural or revealed law: "The Church bids her members see in the civil power 'the minister of God', and never justifies disobedience, except in those rare cases when the State openly violates the natural or the revealed law."
In summary, Catholic teaching limits executive authority to moral bounds, subsidiarity, service of the common good, and deference to spiritual authority. It promotes ordered liberty, warning against absolutism, over-intervention, or idolatry of State power, always prioritizing the human person under God.