Former President Barack Obama’s use of executive power and pursuit of policy changes without the constraints of Congress helped set the table for what Democrats now describe as the “authoritarian” ethos of the second Trump administration. From using the Justice Department to achieve partisan goals to advancing his immigration agenda via executive actions, Obama set precedents for expanding the executive authority Trump is now relying upon to test the limits of Article II. Part one of this Washington Examiner series, “The House that Obama Built,” will examine the precedents set by Obama’s DOJ. 

Democrats say President Donald Trump is weaponizing the Justice Department, but Republicans counter that his administration is rebalancing a system Democrats themselves tilted during the Obama administration.