The rule of law is being undermined from within
In a democracy, the rule of law is sacred. It is what separates government by the people from government by power. It is the idea that laws — not individuals — rule us all. That even the most powerful are held accountable. That justice is impartial, and public service is a trust, not a weapon.
But today, the rule of law in America is under siege. Not by violent revolutionaries or foreign adversaries — but by those entrusted with the highest offices in the Executive Branch of our own government.
Over the last several years, we’ve seen a shift: not just in policy, but in principle. What was once occasional overreach is becoming institutionalized contempt for constitutional constraints.
The President is ignoring lawful orders from federal judges. Law firms are being threatened. The Justice Department has been pressured to act as an instrument of political retribution. Whistleblowers and inspectors general — once considered vital to government integrity — are now targets for removal. Entire departments have been recast as partisan arms of the White House. The slow decay of checks and balances is not just happening — it’s accelerating.
The consequences reverberate. When the presidency treats legal norms as inconveniences, governors and agency heads follow suit. A culture of impunity creeps down the chain of command.
The message is clear: loyalty matters more than law, and those who speak out do so at their own risk.
This erosion is not theoretical. It is practical, it is visible, and it is dangerous. It reshapes the machinery of government into a tool of consolidation rather than service. And it chips away at public trust — the very fuel a democracy runs on.
Most troubling is how normalized this behavior has become. We have learned to expect opacity. We have adjusted to a lack of accountability. We have become numb to the abuse of power cloaked in procedural language. That numbness is how democracies die — not with a bang, but with a shrug.
Today, I will join other lawyers here in Atlanta and across the country in a collective moment of resistance: the national #ReaffirmTheOath campaign. Together, we will publicly recommit to the Constitution — not as a symbol, but as a solemn promise. It may seem like a small gesture, but it is, in truth, a radical act in this climate: an insistence that our duty is not to any person, but to the people.
What we need now is not more rhetoric — we need resolve. Congress must reclaim its constitutional role. Federal agencies must be insulated from political manipulation. The
The Department of Justice must be allowed to function free from interference. And the American people must demand more from those who govern in their name.
The Founders did not design a system to run on blind trust. They built it to survive bad actors — but only if good ones rise to defend it. The rule of law cannot enforce itself. It relies on us — lawyers, elected officials, public servants, citizens — to protect it from decay.
Our moment of reckoning is here. The question is no longer whether the rule of law is at risk. It is. The question is whether we are still willing to fight for it.
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