In a recent Slate Plus episode of Amicus, legal experts Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern discuss strategies for a future Democratic president to repair damage from a potential Trump administration. They argue for using expanded executive powers granted by the Supreme Court to undo harms like mass deportations and agency purges. The conversation emphasizes aggressive action on day one to restore norms and democracy.
The episode, part of the 'Dear (Juris)Prudence' series, responds to listener Jacob Garcowski's question about national recovery after a 2028 Democratic victory, despite a conservative Supreme Court. Published on December 26, 2025, it features Stern advocating for a 'maximalist vision of executive power' established under Trump.
Stern suggests that a hypothetical President AOC in 2029 should immediately impound the budget of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), firing tens of thousands of agents, particularly those involved in violence and discrimination. He proposes closing immigrant detention facilities and freeing detainees. Similarly, for Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Stern calls for firing chief Greg Bovino and agents linked to operations in Chicago, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles, while refusing benefits to law-breakers and releasing participant names.
Repurposed funds would create a reparations program via executive order, compensating victims of deportations and aiding returns of wrongly removed noncitizens. ICE and CBP headquarters could become a 'Truth and Reconciliation Agency' to handle damages from mass deportation campaigns. Stern notes these actions would be '100 percent legal under the precedent established by Trump and the Supreme Court,' citing rulings allowing fund impoundment and agency abolition.
Beyond immigration, the plan includes purging Trump appointees from agencies like the Federal Trade Commission and National Labor Relations Board, and removing Trump's branding from institutions such as the Kennedy Center. Addressing potential Supreme Court challenges, Stern argues litigation would take years, allowing time to 'run out the clock.'
On norms, Lithwick and Stern warn against unilateral adherence, quoting Stern: 'You cannot bring a shrimp fork to a knife fight.' They assert Democrats must demonstrate consequences to Republicans by wielding the same powers, fostering mutual respect for democratic guardrails to prevent further erosion.
