A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
President Trump was sworn into office four weeks ago today.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
And in those four weeks, he has gotten the Senate to confirm even his most controversial cabinet picks. His executive actions have forced dramatic changes in the federal government, and he's even tried to eliminate entire agencies. The courts have put a pause on some actions where there are very real questions about whether what Trump wants to do is legal or even constitutional.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR's senior White House correspondent, Tamara Keith, has been following all this. Tam, so over the weekend, Donald Trump posted on social media, quote, "he who saves his country does not violate any law." What do you make of that?
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Well, this is one of the biggest themes of the second Trump term. President Trump is taking a very expansive view of his executive authority. He is blowing past statutes, like the law requiring 30-days notice to Congress before firing inspectors general, and running straight into significant constitutional questions. He's trying to redefine birthright citizenship, something enshrined in the Constitution.
He's freezing federal funds and trying to erase agencies that were created by Congress without going back to Congress for the authority to do it. And I should say he's trying to do much more, much faster and going it alone in a way that he didn't in his first term But he has a lot less to lose this time. He isn't running for reelection, and the Supreme Court has given presidents broad legal immunity for laws that are broken in the course of doing their jobs.
MARTÍNEZ: Sure. But what happens if courts do decide to step in and decide what the president is trying to do is maybe illegal or unconstitutional?
KEITH: We're likely going to find out, and perhaps sooner than later. President Trump did say last week that he will abide by the courts. But already, in at least one case, a federal judge has found that the Trump administration defied a temporary order to unfreeze federal funding. The administration has appealed. You know, if a theme of the first Trump administration was that he was challenging norms, the theme this time around is that he is challenging laws and the common understanding of the balance of power laid out in the Constitution.
Yesterday, he shared an article on social media that argued, the real threat to democracy is Democrats and federal judges trampling on the president's authority.
MARTÍNEZ: So, OK, in terms of foreign affairs, now, what is the message that the Trump administration is sending the world so far?
KEITH: There's a new sheriff in town, and he is nothing like Joe Biden. Biden was all about strengthening alliances. Trump is coming at it from a very different perspective. He is skeptical of international organizations, like NATO, and doesn't think alliances are worth much unless they are directly helping the U.S. This week, we're expecting that meeting in Saudi Arabia with Russian officials and U.S. diplomats to discuss the end of the war in Ukraine.
At this point, Europe isn't at the table, and it's not clear just yet what Ukraine's role will be. Add to this Trump's many tariff threats, the latest being reciprocal tariffs on friends and rivals alike, his talk of wanting to take back the Panama canal or Greenland, or even take control of Gaza, I think it's safe to say the era of predictability in American foreign policy is over.
MARTÍNEZ: Seems so. Yeah. So how is all this playing with his supporters?
KEITH: Well, generally speaking, his supporters are cheering him on all the way, and Democrats are beside themselves. But if you paid attention to what he said on the campaign trail, none of what's happened in this first month should be much of a surprise. It's just a lot of people didn't believe he was going to do all these things or certainly not all at once.
MARTÍNEZ: That's Tamara Keith. Tam, thanks.
KEITH: You're welcome.
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