Trump’s ‘Catch-Me-If-You-Can’ Presidency Keeps Finding Ways Around the Law
By Zachary B. Wolf, CNN | Sat, September 5, 2026 at 10:30 AM UTC | 6 min read
A plain reading of the law about presidents on coins states the face of a living president should not be on currency. And yet President Donald Trump's is, after his Treasury Department exploited a different law related to commemorative coins.
The law states a president must not commit the US military into hostilities for longer than 60 days without congressional approval. The US has been in a conflict with Iran for more than six months, although the administration says it has taken time-outs in the war. Previous presidents from both parties have danced around this requirement, but nothing on the level of Trump's war on Iran.
Chief Justice John Roberts called it "likely unlawful" for Trump to tear down part of the White House and build something else. And yet construction is happening around the clock to get that White House ballroom done for Trump to enjoy.
Laws would seem to require Congress to approve the construction of a triumphal arch adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery. The administration isn't waiting and the Department of Interior appears primed to start excavation shortly.
The law states suspected criminals should not be put to death without a trial. And yet the US military has taken out numerous alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific.
The law states Congress creates agencies of the federal government, like USAID, the US Department of Education, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Trump has tried to end some of them anyway, either through starvation or outright deletion.
This photo illustration shows 2026 Semiquincentennial President Donald J. Trump $1 coins in Washington, DC, on September 3, 2026.
The law states Congress decides where money should go. That didn't stop Trump's administration from cutting research funding and aid money it simply disagreed with.
The law states the government should not be entering people's homes without a judicial warrant. But Immigration and Customs Enforcement has utilized that power.
The law states the Federal Reserve should operate independently, but that isn't stopping Trump from trying to pressure the Fed to lower interest rates—most recently via a threat to cease trade with top partners.
The list goes on, and with it the complicated legal arguments the Trump administration has made—in those instances when it has had to make them.
Even when faced with setbacks in court, Trump's administration has brazenly looked for end-runs.
A judge ruled Trump's administration can't ignore the law and put his name alongside John F. Kennedy's on the Kennedy Center. But the administration plans to add it to the building anyway, by adding an inscription giving Trump credit for the rehab job. And if the administration can't put the name on the building, it threatens to tear the whole thing down.
The tearing-down of buildings the president should not be able to tear down is an apt analogy for this whole presidency.