section_path: Ethics/Government targeting of political opponents and civil society
section_name: Government targeting of political opponents and civil society
paragraph_text: Government targeting of political opponents and civil society
  
  During Donald Trump ’s second presidency, the Trump administration took a series of actions using the government to target his political opponents and civil society. His actions were described by the media as part of his promised "retribution" and "revenge" campaign, within the context of a strongly personalist and leader-centred conception of politics. He repeatedly stated that he had "every right" to go after his political opponents during his 2024 presidential campaign.
  
  He undertook a massive expansion of presidential power, and several of his actions ignored or violated federal laws, regulations, and the Constitution according to American legal scholars. He threatened, signed executive actions, and ordered investigations into his political opponents, critics, and organizations aligned with the Democratic Party. He politicized the civil service, undertaking mass layoffs of government employees to recruit workers more loyal to himself. He ended the post- Watergate norm of Justice Department independence, weaponizing it and ordering it to target his political enemies. He engaged in an unprecedented targeting of law firms and lawyers that previously represented positions adverse to himself. He targeted higher education by demanding it give federal oversight of curriculum and targeted activists, legal immigrants, tourists, and students with visas who expressed criticism of his policies or engaged in pro-Palestinian advocacy. He detained and deported United States citizens.