On April 9, 1865, when Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia, Ulysses S. Grant made a generous gesture; he allowed the defeated soldiers—traitors to their country—to keep their horses and sidearms. In the aftermath, they, their fellows, and, in the decades since, their sympathizers simmered in resentment at the liberation of slaves and their loss to the richer, better educated, and more tolerant victors of the North and West. They spread their hatred of blacks and the federal government wherever they went: after the war, by the Oregon trail to the Northern Rockies and the Pacific Northwest; during the Depression, to the industrial North. (The proposed state of Jefferson is named, not for Thomas Jefferson, but for Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy.) The line connecting the dots—Ku Klux Klan, Tea Party, MAGA Republican Party—is white Christian nationalism, with its fundamental doctrines of white supremacy, bigotry, nativism, and economic inequality (deserving rich versus undeserving poor).
The Republican Party, under the control of Donald J. Trump, embraces and implements those antidemocratic positions at federal and state levels. It violates peoples’ rights and government laws in policies and practices defying the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the provisions of the Constitution. It tolerates Trump’s on attacks free and fair elections, the courts, law firms, colleges and universities, and the media. It tolerates his efforts to weaken, corrupt, or destroy government agencies like FEMA and NOAA, and to reduce or eliminate government programs like Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP—all of which benefit millions of Americans. Its control of the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches of the federal and many state governments makes their political officeholders responsible and thus accountable.
The aftermath of Trump’s disastrous reign and Republican rule has received little attention. But it must receive it. If democracy is to recover from the wreckage which they have wrought and to avoid a repetition, three conditions must be met. One, Democrats must prevail by large numbers in 2026 and 2028 despite Republicans’ antidemocratic attempts to corrupt or coerce state and federal elections in their favor. Two, the Democratic Party must rouse and purge itself of its dead weight: lethargic leaders who, instead of resisting the Republican coup, demonstrated a lack of convictions or courage. Three, Democrats, despite accusations of political revenge, must accept the necessity of holding federal and state Republican officeholders and their major supporters accountable to revive democracy and restore it to a healthy and enduring condition.
My consideration of the post-Trump scene proposes steps, first to ensure the accountability of those who have done so much to diminish and damage democracy, then to restore and enhance it. My steps of accountability are stern, as befits the gravity of the attempted Republican coup against the country. Republicans who have weaponized government powers against their enemies will claim that their enemies weaponize those powers against them—tit for tat. Not so. Trump’s Executive Orders aim to abuse individuals or organizations, in or out of government, for disagreeing with his policies or opposing his interests; or to eliminate or pervert the purposes of duly established agencies serving long-established public interests. Much legislation in the Republican-controlled Congress aims to curtail the political rights of, or impose hardships on, millions of Americans. (A Democratic president and a Democratic Congress would act and legislate differently.) Accordingly, my steps of accountability include violations not only of established laws, but also of what I call “crimes against country,” for which the processes of justice are appropriate. My tacit analogy is to “crimes against humanity” applied retroactively at the Nurenberg Trials, which assumed that Nazi officials knew, without formal laws, that, say, mass murder is wrong. Likewise, Republicans know that their efforts are damaging and wrong.
The first steps deal with the president. Trump should be impeached. Even if he is not convicted, his impeachment and trial will inform the public of the depth and breadth of his criminality. The political risks of a third impeachment will be greatly reduced if Trump’s approval ratings have continued to plummet into 2026. Congress should pass legislation to undo the effect of the Supreme Court’s decision exempting the president from criminal liability for any official acts by enacting a narrow definition of the word “official” and overriding Trump’s veto. It should also approve three proposed Constitutional amendments. One would declare the president never above the law and liable to prosecution for Constitutional violations or felonious crimes while in office, with standing limited to victims or members of Congress. Two would address Executive Orders and presidential pardons; each should require approval in advance by a majority of the leadership of both chambers yet liable to disapproval by a majority of members in either chamber within thirty days.
The second step involves the impeachment of all Cabinet members, and criminal and tax investigations of them, other political appointees, policy-making staff members, and their non-government consultants/advisors. Those pardoned by Trump should be charged with crimes against country.
The third step deals with Republicans in the House and Senate who have supported Trump even though he violated the Constitution and federal laws, arrogated Congressional powers to himself, and, in the case of the Senate, approved the least competent and most compliant cabinet officials in the history of the country. All Republican House and Senate leaders, and all leaders and prominent members of the Freedom Caucus during Trump’s administration should be expelled. Governors should be advised that neither chamber will seat their appointees who have been MAGA/Trump supporters or sympathizers.
The fourth steps are the impeachment of Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, who discredit the Court because of ethical lapses and conflicts of interest; and the censure of Supreme Court Justice John Roberts for failed leadership.
The fifth steps are investigations of organizations like the Federalist Society, the Heritage Foundation, and the American Legislative Exchange Council for potential tax code violations, with prosecutions, convictions, and sentences as appropriate; and, given their political activities, consideration of their tax-exempt status.
The sixth step is Congressional approval of the following four additional Constitutional amendments, which:
• Mandate the unqualified right and unfettered access of all citizens and all permanent residents, including those incarcerated, to vote.
• Establish criteria for voting districts without regard to race, sex or gender, religion, national origin, or political orientation; and uniform administrative criteria for election procedures and schedules in federal elections.
• Give standing to any citizen or permanent resident, or groups of citizens or permanent residents to pursue a legal grievance respecting their voting rights.
• Establish the independence of the Department of Justice and all agencies created by Congress from any official in the Executive Branch, excepting the President’s nomination of officials requiring the Senate’s confirmation or rejection; and require the Senate’s confirmation or rejection of any president or cabinet member advisor or consultant with management, personnel, or policy-making authority.
In addition to these Constitutional amendments, Congress should pass legislation which restores the status quo ante of departments, agencies, and their programs, with adjustments as necessary.
I am not—no one should be—disposed to leniency for Republican officeholders who have tolerated, supported, or participated in any way in the Republican coup against democratic government. Contrary to their oaths of office, they have shown little willingness to protect the Constitution, to preserve and promote democracy, or to accept the will of the majority. They have shown a disregard for the “domestic welfare” of the American people. They should be subject to investigation, prosecution, and, if convicted, subject to the severest penalties allowed by law and, under no circumstances, spared incarceration. Administration lawyers, if not criminally implicated, should be investigated for unprofessional conduct, including dishonesty and contempt of court, and treated no less severely. Justice must be done if injustice is not to be repeated with grievous consequences for the country and its people.
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