Trump Administration Blinks, Democracy Holds Strong

The Myth of Invincibility Shatters

Jan 21, 2026

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Donald Trump’s administration projects an image of unstoppable force, a juggernaut of authoritarian intent that rolls over norms and laws with impunity. Resistance is often framed by pundits as futile, a desperate holding action against a dictator who acknowledges no boundaries.

This narrative suggests that Trump is dismantling democracy brick by brick, seemingly immune to the checks and balances that once constrained the executive branch.

The reality on the ground tells a radically different story. When stripped of the bluster, the tweets, and the rally speeches, the Trump administration is not a conquering army but a disorganized band of loyalists retreating under fire.

Lindsey Halligan, the unqualified Trump acolyte installed as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, resigned on Tuesday. Her departure was not a strategic withdrawal; it was a surrender that exposes the administration’s defining weakness.

The TACO Pattern: Trump Always Chickens Out

This incident serves as the latest and most vivid proof of a theory gaining traction among observers: Trump Always Chickens Out (TACO). The administration pushes aggressively until it hits hard, legal resistance, and then it blinks.

Halligan’s resignation is not an isolated event but the third time in two months that the administration has folded when the judiciary threatened real consequences.

Alina Habba, another personal lawyer for Trump with no prosecutorial experience, resigned as the U.S. attorney for New Jersey just last month (December 2025) after a federal appeals court ruled her appointment unlawful.

Likewise, Julianne Murray, a former Republican Party chairwoman appointed to lead the U.S. attorney’s office in Delaware, resigned days after Habba to avoid a similar humiliation.

The pattern is undeniable. The administration is terrified of the court system. They rely on the assumption that their opponents will back down first.

However, when the courts hold firm - when judges refuse to back down - the administration calculates that the cost of further defiance is too high. They choose the embarrassment of resignation over the peril of contempt every single time.

The Virginia Standoff

The conflict in the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) represents a microcosm of this broader struggle.

The EDVA is not a backwater assignment; it is one of the nation’s premier prosecutorial offices, responsible for handling complex cases involving national security and terrorism.

To lead this office, Trump chose Halligan, a lawyer whose resume includes insurance defense and a stint as his own personal attorney, but zero prosecutorial experience. Oh, and she was a former beauty pageant semi-finalist - go figure!

Her mandate was clear: weaponize the office against Trump’s perceived enemies. She indicted former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, targeting them for alleged crimes that career prosecutors had already deemed insufficient for prosecution.

Yet, the execution of this retribution collapsed spectacularly when the federal bench intervened and dismissed those prosecutions.

Judicial Escalation and the “Charade”

Two federal judges in the district - Chief Judge M. Hannah Lauck and Judge David J. Novak - launched a coordinated judicial counterattack on Tuesday that left the administration with no room to maneuver.

Judge Lauck, an Obama appointee, issued an order directing the court’s clerk to publish a job posting for the U.S. attorney position in local newspapers. She declared the position “vacant” and invited applications from the public, effectively firing Halligan over the heads of the Justice Department.

Judge Novak, a Trump appointee, escalated the situation further. His order was scathing, targeting the legitimacy of Halligan’s actions and her professional standing.

Novak threatened disciplinary sanctions against any government lawyer who continued to refer to Halligan as the “U.S. attorney” in legal filings.

Novak described Halligan’s continued use of the title as a “charade” and stated she was “masquerading” in the job.

Novak wrote bluntly:

“No matter all of her machinations, Ms. Halligan has no legal basis to represent to this Court that she holds the position. And any such representation going forward can only be described as a false statement made in direct defiance of valid court orders.”

Faced with the threat of professional ruin, Halligan resigned hours later.

The “Acting” Scheme Unravels

The administration’s defeat in Virginia stems from its reliance on an illegal scheme to staff the Justice Department.

Unable to get radical nominees confirmed by the Senate - even with a Republican majority, senators like Virginia’s Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have effectively blocked unqualified candidates - Trump has relied on “acting” and “interim” appointments.

Federal law allows the Attorney General to appoint an interim U.S. attorney for 120 days. If the Senate has not confirmed a permanent successor by the end of that period, the authority to appoint an interim successor falls to the district court, not the President.

Halligan’s predecessor, Erik S. Siebert, had already served a full 120-day term before being forced out for refusing to prosecute Trump’s enemies.

Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled in late November that the administration could not simply install Halligan as a second consecutive interim appointee to bypass the Senate.

The Justice Department argued that they could string together temporary appointments indefinitely, but at least six federal judges have now rejected that argument.

They correctly identified that such a loophole would render the constitutional requirement for Senate confirmation a nullity.

A System Stress Test

American democracy is bending, but it is not breaking. The fact that Lindsey Halligan is no longer the U.S. attorney for the EDVA is proof of life for the republic. The system worked because the judiciary refused to be intimidated.

The administration’s response to these defeats is telling. They are not defying the court orders. They are not declaring the courts illegitimate. They are filing appeals, submitting briefs, and answering lawsuits.

Even when their filings are “defiant” and “derisive” - accusing judges of “rudimentary” errors - they are still participating in the legal process.

This engagement is an admission of the court’s authority. A true authoritarian regime would ignore the orders entirely. By participating in the litigation, the Trump administration acknowledges it is bound by the judicial system.

And when that system rules against them definitively, as it did in Virginia, New Jersey, and Delaware, they back down.

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The “Lose-Lose” Future

The immediate future holds a difficult scenario for the Trump administration. They cannot get their preferred candidates confirmed by the Senate because those candidates are often unqualified loyalists.

They cannot keep them in office through interim appointments because the courts have closed that loophole.

Halligan’s resignation signals to every other “acting” official in the administration that they are vulnerable. It tells career prosecutors and judges that the administration will not protect its pawns when the legal heat gets too high.

Attorney General Pam Bondi decried the “misguided” circumstances of Halligan’s exit, but her statement was an elegy, not a battle cry.

Democracy is holding strong not because of the goodwill of the executive branch, but because of the fortitude of the judicial branch.

The Trump administration blinked in Virginia. They blinked in New Jersey. They blinked in Delaware. As long as the courts remain firm, the “charade” of authoritarianism will continue to crumble.