Mr. Bergman,
I originally planned to speak about Social Security. And, although that is of great importance to me, there is a far greater threat to our democracy that is playing out as I speak. For weeks, Donald Trump and Elon Musk have taken actions to dismantle our federal government. They have claimed the power to overturn laws and budgets passed by Congress. They have fired thousands of federal workers. They have shuttered agencies. Courageous attorneys have filed close to 100 lawsuits in federal court to temporarily or permanently enjoin these actions with near 100 percent success. The question that has loomed over these past weeks, however, is whether or not the Trump administration would obey court orders. Until last week, the DOJ took a variety of actions to skirt or delay compliance -- appeals, coming to court unprepared to get more time, claiming ignorance, etc. But we had so far avoided the constitutional crisis that would be posed by the President refusing outright to obey court orders.
All that changed over this past weekend. The President invoked the Alien Enemies Act and then detained and deported hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members to a concentration camp in El Salvador. Sometime during that process, a federal judge issued a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) to stop the deportations and ordered the return of the planes to the United States. In defiance of the court order, Trump made a decision for the planes to keep going.
The administration is portraying those who oppose the deportation of people without due process and in violation of court orders as support for illegal immigrants. Mr. Bergman, this is not an immigration issue. This is a question about whether the United States is a nation governed by laws or by an autocrat. Those who have spoken throughout our history about the fragility of democracy understood that democracy is entirely dependent on the willingness of the governed and the governing to abide by the rule of law. When that stops, democracy is in crisis. That is where we are today.
Donald Trump is claiming that he has the right to defy court orders. The courts right now are our only guardrail against his tyranny. If the President of the United States does not have to obey court orders, then the entire rule of law becomes meaningless. Think about the implications. Why should anyone anywhere ever obey a court order again that they don’t like? Why should someone pay court-ordered child support, for example? Where does it end? And, if courts cannot enforce orders holding violators in contempt, then what is to prevent our complete descent into anarchy? This is where we are headed.
Mr. Bergman, it is up to you, as a member of Congress and the President’s own party, to speak up and tell him to obey the law.
* Editor's Note: Valorie Troesch is a retired attorney and resident of Torch Lake Township, Michigan. To hear the residents' comments (addressed to Rep. Bergman in his absence) at the March 18, 2025, Bergman(less) Town Hall in Houghton, see the video recording on YouTube. (Inset photo: Valorie Troesch. Photo courtesy Valorie Troesch.)
