Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016/Branches of government

Donald Trump announced his presidential run on June 16, 2015.

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See what Donald Trump and the 2016 Republican Party Platform said about the branches of government.

Trump on the branches of government

Congress

• At a campaign event in Colorado on October 19, 2016, Trump announced plans to propose a constitutional amendment on term limits for members of Congress. Trump said, “If I’m elected president I will push for a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress.” Trump added at another event in Colorado that his plan includes a six-year limit (three terms) for members of the House and a 12-year limit (two terms) for members of the Senate.

• At a campaign event in Wisconsin on October 17, 2016, Trump unveiled a five-point plan for government ethics reform. The proposal included a five-year ban on lobbying for all executive branch officials and former members of Congress and their staffs. The plan would expand the definition of “lobbyist,” permanently bans senior executive branch officials from lobbying on behalf of a foreign government, and would seek to prohibit registered foreign lobbyists from “raising money in American elections.” According to prepared remarks, Trump introduced the plan by saying, “If we let the Clinton Cartel run this government, history will record that 2017 was the year America lost its independence. We will not let that happen. It is time to drain the swamp in Washington, D.C. That is why I am proposing a package of ethics reforms to make our government honest once again.”

Judiciary

• At a town hall on December 12, 2015, Donald Trump criticized Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts for upholding the Affordable Care Act. Trump said, “What he did to Obamacare was disgraceful and I think he did it because he wanted to be popular in the beltway or something, because he did it the first time, and should have never done it and that would have killed it.” Trump added that Justice Clarence Thomas was “highly underrated.”

• In July 2012, Trump called the Supreme Court's decision maintaining the constitutionality of Obamacare "a disaster." Trump added Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored the opinion, was "extremely disloyal" and "wanted to be loved by the Washington establishment."

• In April 2012, Trump criticized President Barack Obama for suggesting it would be unprecedented if the Supreme Court overturned Obamacare, saying, "I think he paid great disrespect to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the Supreme Court for a reason. And it almost is as though he didn't care what they said and they shouldn't be making the decision, and this decision is above them, and they don't exist. And I would think it would be very insulting to go to the Supreme Court with what he said."

Statements in response to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

• In an interview with Maggie Haberman of The New York Times published July 12, 2016, Trump made the following remarks regarding Justice Ginsburg's comments about his possibly becoming president: "I think it's highly inappropriate that a United States Supreme Court judge gets involved in a political campaign, frankly ... I think it's a disgrace to the court and I think she should apologize to the court. I couldn't believe it when I saw it .. That she should be saying that? It's so beneath the court for her to be making statements like that. It only energizes my base even more. And I would hope that she would get off the court as soon as possible."
• In a posted tweet on July 13, Trump called for Justice Ginsburg's resignation, saying that she "has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me. Her mind is shot - resign!"
• Read Justice Ginsburg's comments on Donald Trump, 2016.

Statements on U.S. Supreme Court Nominee Merrick Garland

• During an interview on CNN on March 16, 2016, Donald Trump discussed the process for choosing the next United States Supreme Court justice. He said, "I think the next president should make the pick, and I think they shouldn’t go forward, and I believe I’m pretty much in line with what the Republicans are saying."

Statements on the death of Antonin Scalia and the Supreme Court vacancy

• In response to a question from moderator Chris Wallace during the third presidential debate on October 19, 2016, Donald Trump gave the following remarks on the U.S. Supreme Court, "The Supreme Court, it is what it is all about. Our country is so, so, it is just so imperative that we have the right justices. Something happened recently where Justice Ginsburg made some very inappropriate statements toward me and toward a tremendous number of people. Many, many millions of people that I represent and she was forced to apologize. And apologize she did. But these were statements that should never, ever have been made. We need a Supreme Court that in my opinion is going to uphold the second amendment and all amendments, but the second amendment which is under absolute siege. I believe, if my opponent should win this race, which I truly don't think will happen, we will have a second amendment which will be a very, very small replica of what it is right now. But I feel that it is absolutely important that we uphold because of the fact that it is under such trauma. I feel that the justices that I am going to appoint, and I've named 20 of them. The justices that I am going to appoint will be pro-life. They will have a conservative bent. They will be protecting the second amendment. They are great scholars in all cases and they're people of tremendous respect. They will interpret the constitution the way the founders wanted it interpreted and I believe that’s very important. I don't think we should have justices appointed that decide what they want to hear. It is all about the constitution of, and it is so important. The constitution the way it was meant to be. And those are the people that I will appoint."

• Trump released a list of names from which he would choose nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court as president on September 23, 2016. The list includes four state supreme court judges, four federal appellate judges, and two federal district court judges. This list adds to a list of 11 potential nominees Trump released on May 18, 2016. In a press release, Trump thanked the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation, among others, for help in constructing the list. For a complete list of Trump's potential nominees to the Supreme Court, click here.

• On February 14, 2016, Donald Trump said that he was joking when he stated in 2015 that he would appoint his sister, federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry, to the Supreme Court if given the opportunity. He said, “My sister’s a brilliant person, known as a brilliant person, but it’s obviously a conflict. … My sister, also she — she also happens to have a little bit different views than me, but I said in that in a very joking matter, and it was all lots of fun and everything else.”

• At the Republican presidential debate on February 13, 2016, Trump identified federal judges Diane Sykes and William Pryor as potential replacements for Antonin Scalia. He added that he expected President Barack Obama would nominate a justice and that it was "up to Mitch McConnell, and everybody else to stop it. It's called delay, delay, delay."
• Earlier on February 13, 2016, Trump tweeted, "The totally unexpected loss of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is a massive setback for the Conservative movement and our COUNTRY!"

• Read what other presidential candidates said about the branches of government.

The 2016 Republican Party Platform on government

“ The Judiciary The rule of law is the foundation of our Republic. A critical threat to our country’s constitutional order is an activist judiciary that usurps powers properly reserved to the people through other branches of government. Only a Republican president will appoint judges who respect the rule of law expressed within the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, including the inalienable right to life and the laws of nature and nature’s God, as did the late Justice Antonin Scalia. We are facing a national crisis in our judiciary. We understand that only by electing a Republican president in 2016 will America have the opportunity for up to five new constitutionally-minded Supreme Court justices appointed to fill vacancies on the Court. Only such appointments will enable courts to begin to reverse the long line of activist decisions — including Roe, Obergefell, and the Obamacare cases — that have usurped Congress’s and states’ lawmaking authority, undermined constitutional protections, expanded the power of the judiciary at the expense of the people and their elected representatives, and stripped the people of their power to govern themselves. We believe in the constitutional checks and balances and that the Founders intended the judiciary to be the weakest branch. We encourage Congress to use the check of impeachment for judges who unconstitutionally usurp Article I powers. In tandem with a Republican Senate, a new Republican president will restore to the Court a strong conservative majority that will follow the text and original meaning of the Constitution and our laws. The legitimate powers of government are rooted in the consent of the American people. Judicial activism that includes reliance on foreign law or unratified treaties undermines American sovereignty. Foreign laws and precedents should not be used to interpret our Constitution or laws, nor should foreign sources of law be used in state courts’ adjudication of criminal or civil matters. We also affirm the wisdom of President George Washington’s warning to avoid foreign entanglements and unnecessary alliances. We therefore oppose the adoption or ratification of treaties that would weaken or encroach upon American sovereignty or that could be construed by courts to do so. We will not recognize as binding upon the United States any international agreement forged without the constitutionally required assent of two-thirds of the United States Senate. Administrative Law Article I of the Constitution directs that “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States….” For more than a century, however, Congress has delegated increasing amounts of legislative authority to executive departments, agencies, and commissions, laying the foundation for today’s vast administrative state. Unelected bureaucrats in the executive branch now write countless rules with the force of law and arbitrarily punish individuals who disobey those rules. The Constitution makes clear that these powers were granted to Congress by the people and must therefore remain solely with the people’s elected representatives. We call on Congress to begin reclaiming its constitutional powers from the bureaucratic state by requiring that major new federal regulations be approved by Congress before they can take effect, such as through the Regulation Freedom Amendment. We further affirm that courts should interpret laws as written by Congress rather than allowing executive agencies to rewrite those laws to suit administration priorities. ” —2016 Republican Party Platform

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See also

• Donald Trump
• Donald Trump presidential campaign, 2016

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