In this episode of The Stakes, host Brad Rourke speaks with Kettering Foundation Senior Fellow J. Michael Luttig, former US Court of Appeals judge and conservative legal scholar. Luttig issues a stark warning: the United States may have little left of its constitutional democracy by the 2026 midterms. 

Drawing from his recent article in The Atlantic, Luttig argues that the first 100 days of President Trump’s second term constitute an unprecedented legal and institutional assault. He outlines how executive actions—ranging from tariffs and deportations to attacks on the Federal Reserve and attempts to commandeer federal elections—lack constitutional or statutory authority. With Congress unwilling and the Supreme Court unable to check his power, “There is nothing to stop this president for the next three and a half years other than the American people,” says Luttig.