Deep Dives / Sweeping Up the Rubble
Sweeping Up the Rubble
The guardrails are broken. Here's what we need to build next.
Every time an American president broke something, we built a guardrail to stop it from happening again. After Andrew Jackson replaced government workers with political friends, we created the civil service. After Nixon used the FBI against his enemies, we created inspectors general. After FDR won four terms, we added a two-term limit to the Constitution.
Some of those guardrails worked. Some eroded. And now, many of them are actively being torn down. This page is a to-do list for what comes next — twelve things Congress can do to make sure this doesn't happen again.
The Pattern (in 30 seconds)
This cycle has repeated for 230 years. Read the full history in The Scorecard.
The Fundamental Problem
Here's why the guardrails keep failing: most of them depend on the president choosing to follow them. And when they don't, enforcement usually runs through the executive branch — which is controlled by the president.
It's like asking someone to ground themselves. If the president tells the Justice Department to ignore a law, who's going to make them follow it? The Justice Department — which reports to the president.
The central question for the next Congress: can we build guardrails with independent enforcement — enforcement that doesn't depend on the cooperation of the person being constrained?
The To-Do List: 12 Guardrails We Need
These aren't hypothetical. Most of them have already been written into real bills. The Protecting Our Democracy Act (PODA) passed the House in 2021 and contains many of these reforms. It stalled in the Senate. The 2026 midterms are the next chance to elect a Congress that will pass it.
Protect the watchdogs
The gap
Right now, the president can fire inspectors general — the independent investigators inside every agency — for any reason. Trump fired 17 in one night. The 2022 reform law says to give 30 days' notice, but there's no real penalty for ignoring it.
The fix
Make it so inspectors general can only be fired for a real reason — like committing a crime or refusing to do their job. Not just because they found something the president doesn't like.
Give Congress teeth
The gap
When Congress subpoenas someone and they refuse to show up, the case goes to the Department of Justice for prosecution. But the DOJ reports to the president. So when the president tells people to ignore Congress, the DOJ won't prosecute them. It's a circle.
The fix
Create an independent office that can enforce congressional subpoenas without needing the president's permission. Set a 30-day deadline for courts to rule on subpoena disputes.
Limit the pardon power
The gap
The president can pardon almost anyone for almost anything — including people who committed crimes on the president's behalf. Trump pardoned ~1,500 January 6 defendants, including people who assaulted police. There's no rule against pardoning yourself.
The fix
Pass a constitutional amendment banning self-pardons. Require the president to explain certain pardons to Congress. Ban pardons for crimes the president is being investigated for.
Stop presidents from profiting
The gap
The Constitution says the president can't accept payments from foreign governments (that's called the Emoluments Clause — basically, no getting paid on the side). But there's no enforcement mechanism. Lawsuits were dismissed as "moot" when Trump left office the first time. The $TRUMP meme coin generated hundreds of millions with no legal consequences.
The fix
Require presidents to put their businesses in a real blind trust (run by independent people, not family). Create a law that lets Congress or the ethics office sue to enforce the rule. Ban presidents from launching financial products while in office.
Close the "acting" loophole
The gap
Important government jobs require Senate confirmation — that's the check. But presidents can install "acting" officials who skip the process entirely. Trump used this to put loyalists in charge of agencies without the Senate ever voting on them.
The fix
Set strict time limits on acting officials. If the time runs out, they lose their authority automatically. Ban acting officials whose nomination was already rejected by the Senate.
Make DOJ independence a law, not a suggestion
The gap
There is no law preventing the president from ordering the Justice Department to investigate political enemies. DOJ independence is based entirely on tradition — it's a "norm," not a rule. Trump threw out the norm and explicitly ordered prosecutions of critics.
The fix
Pass a law protecting the Special Counsel from being fired without cause. Ban the White House from directing specific prosecutions. Require the Attorney General to report to Congress when they overrule career prosecutors.
Enforce the spending rules
The gap
The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 says the president must spend money the way Congress approved it. Trump has withheld $425+ billion and ignored the law. The problem: there's no automatic penalty, and enforcement depends on lawsuits that take months.
The fix
Make the money release automatically if Congress doesn't approve a cut within 45 days. Let the Government Accountability Office go directly to court to enforce it. Create personal penalties for officials who knowingly break the law.
Lock in civil service protections
The gap
The merit-based civil service — where government workers are hired for their skills, not their politics — is mostly protected by executive orders and agency rules. That means the next president can undo them with a signature. Trump's Schedule F does exactly that, reclassifying tens of thousands of workers so they can be fired at will.
The fix
Write the protections into federal law (not just executive orders). Ban reclassification of career positions to political positions without Congress voting on it.
Make court orders enforceable
The gap
When the president defies a court order, the only punishment is contempt — which requires the executive branch to enforce against itself. That's like asking someone to ground themselves. In the Abrego Garcia deportation case, the Supreme Court unanimously ordered the government to act, and the administration publicly refused.
The fix
Create automatic budget consequences for agencies found in contempt of court. Make officials personally liable (not just the agency) for knowingly defying court orders. Create an enforcement path that doesn't depend on the executive branch policing itself.
Keep private citizens out of government systems
The gap
No law specifically prevents the president from giving unelected, unconfirmed private citizens access to federal databases, personnel systems, and spending controls. DOGE placed Elon Musk's associates inside agencies where they fired workers and canceled contracts — without Senate confirmation or security clearances.
The fix
Require Senate confirmation or at least congressional notice before any non-government person gets access to federal systems. Apply the same oversight rules to reorganization teams that apply to official advisory committees.
Put expiration dates on executive orders
The gap
There's no limit on how many executive orders a president can issue or how far they can reach. Courts can strike them down, but lawsuits take months while the orders take effect immediately.
The fix
Executive orders that spend money or contradict existing law should expire after one year unless Congress votes to keep them. Create a fast-track court process for emergency challenges.
Protect election certification
The gap
The Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 clarified that the Vice President's role in counting electoral votes is purely ceremonial — they can't reject results. But gaps remain: what happens if a governor refuses to certify, or submits a fake slate of electors?
The fix
Require states to update their own laws to match the federal law. Create penalties for officials who submit false election results. Close remaining loopholes around "failed election" claims.
The Bill That Already Exists
The Protecting Our Democracy Act (PODA) was introduced in 2021 and passed the House 220–208. It includes reforms to inspector general protections, subpoena enforcement, acting official limits, impoundment control, emoluments enforcement, and more. It stalled in the Senate.
It was reintroduced in 2023. It covers about half of the twelve guardrails on this page. The other half would require new legislation or constitutional amendments.
The point: we don't have to start from scratch. The drafting has been done. The question is whether the Congress elected in 2026 will have the votes to pass it.
What You Can Do
Know what your representatives have done
Head to Re-elect or Reject and tap any senator's photo to see how they voted on the bills that matter. Did they vote to protect watchdogs or fire them? Did they vote to enforce spending rules or let them slide?
Ask candidates where they stand
When candidates come to your town or show up in your feed, ask them: "Will you vote for the Protecting Our Democracy Act?" If they don't know what it is, send them this page.
Show up in 2026
Midterm elections have the lowest voter turnout of any election. The people who show up decide what happens next. Find your ballot and make a plan at Find Your Ballot.
Share this page
Most people don't know these guardrails exist, let alone that they're broken. Share the Deep Dives series with someone who's paying attention but doesn't know what to do about it.
The Bottom Line
Every guardrail on this page exists because someone before us went through something terrible and said "never again." The civil service exists because of Jackson. Inspectors general exist because of Nixon. The two-term limit exists because of FDR.
None of those reforms happened while the bad president was still in power. They happened after — when the next Congress had the will to act. That's where we are now.
The rubble is real. The blueprints exist. The question is whether we'll build.
Resources
Protect Democracy
Nonpartisan organization tracking the Protecting Our Democracy Act and other reform efforts.
Brennan Center for Justice
Research and advocacy for democracy reform, voting rights, and government accountability.
Campaign Legal Center
Nonpartisan legal work on campaign finance, ethics, and election integrity.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW)
Tracks emoluments violations, ethics breaches, and government corruption.
The history
The Scorecard
Full history cards for every president who broke something — and what we built after.
The connections
The Worst of All of Them
The visual map connecting Trump to every president's worst behavior.
Sources
- Protect Democracy: Protecting Our Democracy Act
- Campaign Legal Center: Firing Inspectors General
- Harvard Law: Watergate-Era Reforms, 50 Years Later
- CREW: Understanding the Impoundment Control Act
- CBPP: Withholding of Funds
- Protect Democracy: Schedule F Explained
- Protect Democracy: Electoral Count Reform Act
- Center for American Progress: Lessons from Watergate