Jim Jordan Defends Trump’s Authority, Dismisses Checks and Balances in Fiery CNN Interview

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Alex Bollinger
February 10, 2025
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7 minutes read

John Minchillo/AP Photo

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) argued on CNN Sunday that the Constitution grants President Donald Trump the ultimate authority to make decisions for the country, brushing aside the role of Congress and the judiciary as checks on executive power.

During an interview on Inside Politics, host Manu Raju questioned Jordan about a Reagan-appointed federal judge who ruled that Trump was exceeding his authority, particularly in his effort to rescind birthright citizenship.

“I’m talking about, there’s a pattern where judges are saying they’re going too far on these issues,” Raju pressed after Jordan dismissed the ruling as the opinion of “just one judge.” Jordan defended Trump’s authority by citing the Constitution, emphasizing that executive power is vested solely in the president.

“All I know is, again, Article Two, Section One, the very first sentence, ‘The executive power shall be vested in a president,'” Jordan said. “I think it’s important, ‘a president of the United States of America,’ not in bureaucrats, not in career people — in the president. The guy who put his name on the ballot.”

He went on to frame the issue as a fundamental ideological divide, suggesting that Democrats prefer career officials and bureaucrats to make policy decisions rather than elected leaders. “This is a fundamental difference we have with the left,” Jordan continued. “The left thinks, ‘Oh, it’s the career experts who make the decisions.’

That’s not how our country works. It’s the guy who puts his name on the ballot, and gets elected by ‘We the people.’ He gets to make the decisions, or she gets to make the decisions. That’s how — we don’t want the Faucis of the world and all the people in the bureaucracy making the decisions. We want the guy who puts their name on the ballot and gets elected by the American people.”

Raju pushed back, noting that Congress is also an elected, co-equal branch of government. However, the discussion stopped short of fully addressing the system of checks and balances that prevents any one branch from wielding unchecked power.

Jordan’s comments reflect a growing trend within Trump’s Republican allies, who argue for a broad interpretation of executive authority while minimizing congressional and judicial oversight. The debate over the limits of presidential power is likely to intensify as Trump continues to push for sweeping policy changes, even in the face of legal and constitutional challenges.