How Trump Uses Dormant Laws to Amass Power

Congress has spent the last two centuries passing laws. These laws often remain on the books, so to speak, long after their purpose has been fulfilled until lawmakers repeal them. Occasionally the Trump administration finds something buried within this back catalogue that it can wield for its own purposes—and to no good end. This summer, for example, the Trump administration has moved to revive two different courts that are authorized by Congress but have laid moribund for decades or even…