Alan Zendell, January 2, 2026,

The future of our democracy as our  Declaration of Independence and Constitution framed it will depend on two things that will occupy most of 2026. The first half of the year belongs to the Supreme Court. The Roberts Court is expected to publish decisions on the constitutionality of several critical issues, all of which deal directly with the power of the president:

• immigration
• tariffs
• birthright citizenship
• domestic use of the army and National Guard
• creating and staffing the Departments that comprise our federal government
• attacking unarmed civilian boats and ships in international waters without following the rule of law or consulting Congress.

While many people have accused the Supreme Court of rubber-stamping anything Donald Trump wants, recent indications belie that. Roberts and Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch all have reputations as strict constitutionalists or originalists. When serious matters that attempt to redefine the Constitution are before the Court, we are likely to see different outcomes.

The integrity of the Court matters very much to Roberts, who has been Chief Justice for twenty years. It is inconceivable that Roberts would let his legacy be the Chief Justice who tore up the Constitution. In his typically nuanced manner, without mentioning Donald Trump, Roberts concluded his 2025 year-end report by quoting Calvin Coolidge, and informing us that the rule of law is safe under his stewardship.

“Amid all the clash of conflicting interests, amid all the welter of partisan politics, every American can turn for solace and consolation to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States with the assurance and confidence that those two great charters of freedom and justice remain firm and unshaken.” Roberts followed that with the simple statement, “True then; true now.” He concluded by thanking everyone involved in the Judiciary for “their dedication to upholding the rule of law.”

That’s enough for us to enter the new year with far more hope than we did last year, anticipating how Donald Trump would implement Project 2025. Confirming our worst fears. he spent all of 2025 attempting undermine the basic principles on which our founding documents were based, with OMB Director Russell Vought and people like Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller scrupulously following the fascist playbook that consolidated Adolf Hitler’s rule in Germany, translating it into 225 Executive Orders. The fate of the most dangerous of those now rests with the Supreme Court.

If the Supreme Court fails to rein in the autocratic ambitions of Trump and his MAGA base, that responsibility will fall to us, the voters, in November. It’s no exaggeration that this year’s midterm election will have a profound effect on the future of our country. Assuming Trump’s health issues enable him to finish his term, flipping the Congress away from MAGA control is the only way our democracy will survive it.

We elect the entire House of Representatives and a third of the Senate, this year. While the cliché that all politics is local usually prevails, this year we’ll be voting primarily either for people who support Trump’s attempts to undermine the rule of law or those who oppose it. And that will be happening amidst the most robust attempt to influence the outcome of the election we’ve ever seen. Adversarial governments, largely Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea will flood our online media with bots, lies, misdirections, and propaganda. Our adversaries believe MAGA policies will weaken us significantly. They all have more incentive than ever, especially Russia which is desperate to have American-driven sanctions removed. They will stop at nothing to keep MAGA in power.

When they cast their votes in November, voters should also be clear about Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol. The Department of Justice, which has been weaponized as a political tool by Trump, released Prosecutor Jack Smith’s December 17^th closed door testimony about Trump on New Years Eve, hoping no one would read it, while simultaneously issuing an order that he was prohibited from discussing it publicly.

Smith’s testimony is damning. He told Congress his team “had proof beyond reasonable doubt” that Trump was guilty of the charges in the 2020 election interference and classified documents cases.” He further said that “President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power,” and “when asked if Trump was responsible for the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, Smith said, ‘Our view of the evidence was that he caused it and that he exploited it.’”

But for a Supreme Court ruling immunizing him against criminal prosecution, Trump would be standing trial for serious crimes for which any other American would be held accountable. Everyone who casts a vote for Congress this year must remember that any candidate who supports Trump effectively supports undermining the rule of law.