When the Founding Fathers created our government, they made three DISTINCT branches that would be equal. Now, President Trump and Elon Musk have launched an unprecedented attack on our republic. If their efforts to consolidate all power with the Executive Branch, they will end the great American experiment. They must not be allowed to do that.

President Trump's executive orders are being challenged in the courts but Vice President JD Vance thinks the Judiciary has no right to infringe on the Executive branch's "legitimate" powers. He is right BUT the Judicial branch determine what they are and can determine if what they do is or is not constitutional. This right, codified by the landmark Marbury v. Madison Supreme Court decision, is fundamental to maintaining our republic. Without that, the president (any president) would have unchecked powers. That is what Trump and Musk want but we can't let them get what they want.

Moreover, the Legislative branch has the "power of the purse." The framers of the Constitution understood that if they have that power to the president, we would not have a republic. They specifically gave that power to the House of Representatives to ensure the people had a say in how their tax dollars are spent.

We need to uphold the system of checks and balances and maintain the separation of powers. At the end of the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin was asked what kind of government they had created. He famously replied, "A republic, if you can keep it."

Can we?