Lt. Col. (Ret.) Robert Bruce Adolph, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Benjamin Ray Lawton |
This article examines the growing tensions between constitutional loyalty and presidential authority in the second administration of Donald J. Trump, particularly as they relate to the U.S. military. Drawing from our military experience and comparative political observation, the authors raise urgent questions about the boundaries of lawful obedience and institutional loyalty in an era marked by executive disregard for legal norms. With military judge advocates general dismissed, intelligence leaders purged, the deployment of the California National Guard, the activation of the U.S. Marines,
and constitutional violations mounting, this piece argues that senior military leaders must confront a central dilemma: what loyalty is owed to a president who fails to honor his oath of office?
Introduction
Throughout our military careers, we were proud to serve under the authority of civilian leadership. That leadership, however, was always understood to be subordinate to the Constitution, not above it. Our oaths made that distinction clear to us. Today, we are gravely concerned.
The return of former President Donald J. Trump to office, following his conviction on 34 felony counts, has introduced an era of extraordinary constitutional uncertainty. The implications for the military, and particularly for senior leaders, are profound.
The Oath: Not to a Man, but to the Constitution
American military personnel swear an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” This oath intentionally avoids reference to any individual, including the president. Civil-military theorists such as Samuel Huntington and Peter D. Feaver have long emphasized the necessity of constitutional loyalty in preserving democratic civil-military balance. However, under the second Trump administration,
personal loyalty has increasingly replaced institutional accountability as the perceived measure of allegiance to democratic norms. Several recent events suggest this shift toward loyalty to the individual rather than to the constitutional system:The dismissal of Department of Justice lawyers investigating the president’s role in the January 6th
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