From foreign aid freeze to ending birthright citizenship, series of Trump's actions that defy US laws

Soon after US President Donald Trump took office, he and his administration took several stringent measures against various old policies, defying legal limits.

However, other US presidents have occasionally claimed a constitutional right to bypass particular rights. But, Trump, in his opening weeks, blew through apparent legal limits.

Although some of Trump's actions have prompted legal challenges, his administration may be betting on rulings in its favour with a Republican-appointed Supreme Court supermajority.

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Here are some of the Trump administration's law-defying examples:

The Trump administration ordered the Justice Department not to enforce a ban on TikTok for 75 days. It further asked them to notify the app and its business partners that defying the law is no criminal offence.

It could be violating the law barring TikTok from operating in the US unless and until its Chinese owner sells it.

The administration gave a blanket order to pause US-funded programmes and temporarily freeze most foreign aid.

As the longer it lasts, blocking congressionally approved spending comes into greater tension with Impoundment Control Act, The New York Times reported.

Trump moved to dismantle the USAID and turn its functions into the US State Department, as it also made Secretary of State Marco Rubio its acting director.

It could be violating a law in which Congress created USAID and structured it as a stand-alone entity.

The Trump administration fired 17 inspectors general, including the watchdog officials who hunt for waste, fraud, abuse, and illegality in government agencies.

It might violate the law that states presidents have to give Congress 30 days’ notice and a written “substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” before any such dismissal.

The Office of Management and Budget ordered agencies to carry out a blanket temporary freeze of up to $3 trillion in domestic grants and other government spending.

Following this, the freeze was temporarily blocked by two courts after plaintiffs raised challenges, including provisions in the Administrative Procedure Act and First Amendment rights.

Trump summarily fired a Democratic member of the independent agency before her term was up, hammering the board by leaving it without a quorum.

It violated the law, which states that presidents may only remove board members "upon notice and hearing, for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause.”

Trump fired prosecutors involved in the cases against him or the January 6 riots.

It could violate the law stating civil service job protections against arbitrarily firing federal workers without a reasonable cause and without holding hearings before the Merit System Protection Board.

The Trump administration declared that the constitution's 14th Amendment will no longer be interpreted as granting citizenship to babies born on US soil to undocumented parents or visitors.

It could be violating the longstanding understanding that the 14th Amendment does grant citizenship to such infants. The federal judge on Tuesday barred agencies from following this order as of now.

(With inputs from agencies)