Trending Now
We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 17, 2025.
Trump versus the courts
A federal judge set up a showdown with the Trump administration on Wednesday with a ruling that threatens to find the government in contempt if it fails to comply with a judicial order to provide due process to Venezuelans deported to a prison in El Salvador.
This is separate from the ongoing clash between the White House and the courts over the fate of Kilmar Abrego García, the undocumented immigrant who was sent to an El Salvador prison on suspicion of being a gang member, in defiance of a court’s stay of deportation.
Judge James E. Boasberg’s threat regarding the Venezuelan deportations is the latest round of a deepening legal fight with a White House that insists that judges seeking to ensure oversight and due process in deportation procedures are interfering with lawful (and popular) measures that are necessary to remove illegal immigrants and criminals.
So far, Trump and his officials have openly challenged the courts’ authority but have yet to overtly defy lawful orders. When the Associated Press won a First Amendment case challenging their expulsion from the White House press pool, for example, the administration simply eliminated the pool position rather than comply with the ruling.
Trump has said he won’t challenge the authority of the Supreme Court, something that would set off a far-reaching constitutional crisis. But so much of his governing agenda is eliciting judicial challenges that the High Court will be repeatedly called on to define the limits of executive power. Seems these fights are only just beginning.
Why Mexico is a key issue in the 2024 US election
Jon Lieber, head of Eurasia Group's coverage of political and policy developments in Washington, DC shares his perspective on US politics.
I'm here in Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, which is a country that is turning out to be a major potential campaign issue in the US 2024 elections. We've already seen several Republican candidates try to distinguish themselves by painting Mexico as a bad guy. Florida governor Ron DeSantis has said that he wants to militarize the border in order to stop the flow of drugs, guns and crime and illegal immigrants coming over the border. Former President Donald Trump famously renegotiated NAFTA with Mexico and used the threat of additional tariffs to force Mexico to secure its southern border to prevent Central American migrants moving up into the United States. So this is going to be a big issue over the next 12 months in the US.
Both Democrats and Republicans, likely Democrat nominee Joe Biden and potential nominee Donald Trump are vying for the votes of autoworkers inside the US, which means promising to bring more domestic production back home to the US, which could potentially hurt Mexico, which has, of course, a free trade agreement with the United States. There's also a presidential election here in Mexico. So depending on the outcome of that, that could be the opportunity to fundamentally reset relations. One likely candidate has virtually no foreign policy experience, and one likely candidate has a lot of foreign policy experience, having dealt extensively with the United States. And the outcome here is going to be important when the US and Mexico start to renegotiate the USMCA, the trade agreement that binds the three North American countries together in 2026. There is a periodic six-year agreement to revisit details of that. And as the US starts to focus more on industrial policy and production directly in the United States, this could be an issue for Mexico, who counts on the American market for a large segment of its exports, particularly in the automotive industry. The Mexican government has lagged behind a little bit other governments in taking advantage of the opportunity of the trade war between the US and China to create more sourcing opportunities out of Mexico. And that's going to be a major issue to watch over the next several years. So lots of interesting issues here in Mexico that will affect US politics.
- Advantage Mexico ›
- Optimism about Mexico's political and economic future ›
- Mexico pays price for Colorado River deal ›
- Ian Explains: Gaming out the 2024 US election - GZERO Media ›
- Trump trial: How would a conviction hurt his reelection bid? - GZERO Media ›
- Ian Bremmer’s 2024 elections halftime report - GZERO Media ›