The rule of law is king

The hundreds of thousands of Americans who took part in the “No Kings” protests across the country on Saturday, June 14, were asserting a demand that the current president and his minions comply with the rule of law.

Elections do have consequences. It is the American way to oppose policies and programs of a president and administration. However, regardless of one’s political philosophy or partisanship, Americans are governed by the rule of law as it exists in the U.S. Constitution, laws enacted by Congress and signed by a president, and rulings by courts of law. One can also argue that common law and practices are also precedents that are a natural part of the rule of law.

Now we are witnessing, not just changes in policy, but an anarchical disregard for the legal process for changes in policy. The Illinois State Bar Association summarized the breach in its February 2025 statement in support of the rule of law and an impartial and independent judiciary: “Embodied in the U.S. Constitution, for 236 years these foundational principles have contributed significantly to an ordered society, the preservation of individual rights, checks and balances on excessive government actions, and a firm confidence by the public that access to equal justice is available to all.”

As ABA president Bill Bay stated: “We have seen attempts at wholesale dismantling of departments and entities created by Congress without seeking the required congressional approval to change the law. There are efforts to dismiss employees with little regard for the law and protections they merit, and social media announcements that disparage and appear to be motivated by a desire to inflame without any stated factual basis.”

In Illinois, we see continuing threats to the rule of law by Department of Homeland Security and its anti-immigration posse with increasing seamy attacks on residents from outside the U.S. moving toward actions parallel to the military invasion of Los Angeles. Treatment of those seized, legally or not, is inhumane treatment in violation of the rule of law.

Nationally, as of June 13, there have been 187 court actions successfully delaying or preventing the administration’s illegal, unconstitutional acts. Historically, no presidential administration has acted so egregiously. This administration’s response has been to attack, attack, attack. Anyone acting against “the king’s” directives is the enemy and subject to juvenile-level abuse. He calls judges America-hating and seeks their removal – even of those who were appointed by the first version of this administration.

It returns us to the imperial presidency, complete with the unconstitutional concept of the “unified executive.” Quoting Richard Nixon – “When the president does it, it is not illegal.” In contrast, Thomas Paine wrote in Common Sense: “For as in absolute governments the king is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other.”

Whatever other messages may have been sent by the “No Kings” protest, the key is objection to the disregard of the Constitution, congressional acts and judicial rulings. Rule of law should be our guiding beacon, as it has been for over 200 years.

This article appears in The College Crisis.