In this Nov. 17, 1973 file photo, President Richard Nixon speaks near Orlando, Fla. to the Associated Press Managing Editors annual meeting. Nixon told the APME “I am not a crook.”
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Former President Trump is dismissing government oversight officials, attempting to close entire departments, and halting expenditures on initiatives that do not align with his objectives. These actions to recalibrate the government swiftly are creating tensions with regulations established following the Watergate scandal.
For many years, the consensus held that Watergate led to enhanced Congressional oversight and a reduction in the power of the presidency. However, over time, these checks have fostered a movement on the right to reestablish authority within the executive branch, as noted by Bruce Schulman, a history professor at Boston University.
In his second term, Trump is testing new limits. “What we are currently witnessing is a culminating effort, a direct challenge to the remnants of that specific post-Nixon era,” he remarked.
President Richard Nixon at the White House with his family following his resignation on Aug. 9, 1974.
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What happened after Nixon
President Richard Nixon engaged the FBI and CIA against his political adversaries, defied Congressional wishes regarding federal spending, and obstructed inquiries into his contentious actions. Ultimately, he resigned as an impeachment initiative was intensifying.
“Nixon’s departure from the presidency in 1974 triggered a significant, bipartisan initiative to limit executive power, reduce corruption, and enhance government transparency,” Schulman remarked.
Democratic Senator Walter Mondale was instrumental in the bipartite effort aimed at curbing what he labeled “the imperial presidency” during a 1974 NPR interview.
“If we can — before this is concluded — establish that every president, including this one, is accountable to the law and must adhere to the Constitution, the courts, Congress, and the American populace, we will safeguard ourselves from a perilous trend,” Mondale stated in the interview.
Watergate created an appetite for change
After Nixon’s resignation, a new wave of legislators entered Congress with a mandate for reform. They addressed numerous new limitations on presidential authority. The laws were designed to regulate the president’s utilization of national emergencies and military powers.
New safeguards were established to prevent political interference with the federal civil service, including a ten-year term for the FBI director.
The legislation instituted inspectors general in federal agencies and established the Office of Government Ethics and the Office of Special Counsel — watchdogs intended to monitor the executive branch’s actions.
“These reforms serve as a clear message of Congressional intent to counteract executive overreach,” noted Andrew Rudalevige, a government professor at Bowdoin College.
President Trump signs an executive action concerning tariffs in the Oval Office on Feb. 13, 2025.
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What Trump has been unwinding
Since taking office, Trump has dismissed over a dozen inspectors general. He has also disregarded a 2022 statute mandating cause for such dismissals and requiring advance notice to Congress.
“According to the statute… what President Trump enacted, violates the law,” stated Anne Joseph O’Connell, a law professor at Stanford. “However, whether this conservative Supreme Court would uphold that statute is uncertain.”
The White House contends that because the inspectors general are part of the executive branch, President Trump maintains the authority to dismiss them regardless of Congressional legislation.
“Those are plausible legal positions,” remarked Blake Emerson from UCLA Law. “While such arguments were less credible two decades ago, they are not now.”
Federal judicial decisions have temporarily paused many actions and directives issued by the Trump administration. Some of these disputes could ultimately reach the Supreme Court.
The White House announced it plans to contest the court orders obstructing their actions while also questioning the judges’ motivations for these initial rulings.
“The genuine constitutional crisis is occurring within our judiciary, as district court judges in liberal districts downstream are exploiting their power to collectively impede the president’s fundamental executive rights,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters.
Vice President Vance implied on social media that judges are not equipped to contest President Trump’s “legitimate authority.”
Emerson from UCLA observed that the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has begun to restrict Congress’s ability to supervise the executive branch.
“The post-Nixon reforms are under scrutiny and could potentially be abandoned,” Emerson warned.
President Trump disembarks from Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Feb. 14, 2025.
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The power of the purse
Another law facing pressure is the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which was a response to Nixon’s refusal to allocate funds as mandated by Congress. This law emphasizes that the Constitution grants Congress the authority over budgetary matters.
Officials within the Trump administration have claimed that the Impoundment Control Act is unconstitutional and are moving forward to reduce spending on initiatives and agencies that conflict with the president’s policy objectives.
Some conservative figures argue that the actions of the Trump administration are stretching executive power to an alarming extent.
“I support the elimination of numerous agencies,” stated Gene Healy, senior vice president for policy at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank. “However, I doubt that an attempt to accomplish that will succeed without Congressional approval.”
Congressional Republicans are standing by Trump
Healy noted that the post-Watergate period represented the last significant and sustained effort by Congress to keep the presidency within constitutional boundaries.
Other presidents have also explored new strategies for exerting their authority, ranging from George W. Bush’s extensive actions post-9/11, Barack Obama’s initiatives in favor of undocumented “Dreamers” brought to the U.S. as children, to Joe Biden’s efforts to forgive billions in student loan debt.
“This trend is not new to the Trump era, nor did it cease with the Biden administration,” Healy noted.
Currently, a Republican-majority Congress appears much more compliant with the White House as Trump navigates the boundaries of his authority. Some congressional Republicans have proposed legislation to endow executive orders with the power of law while others have overlooked concerns regarding potential transgressions by Trump.
“The phrase I’ve been using for two decades is, you cannot maintain an imperial presidency without an absent Congress — and that remains true today,” remarked Rudalevige from Bowdoin College.
NPR’s Lexie Schapitl contributed to this story.
