How many laws have bben broken by and during Trump's second administration?
Executive summary
There is no credible, evidence-based single count of “how many laws have been broken” by President Trump in his second administration; instead, reporting and legal trackers record hundreds of lawsuits and dozens of executive actions that courts, watchdogs and opponents say exceed statutory or constitutional authority [1] [2]. Determinations about criminal or civil violations are matters for courts and prosecutors; the sources available document legal challenges and rulings, not a definitive tally of broken laws [1] [3].
1. What the public record actually counts: lawsuits, injunctions and blocked policies
Independent trackers and news organizations measure litigation and judicial responses rather than “laws broken,” and those counts are striking: as of January 3, 2026 AP News was tracking 358 cases against the second Trump administration, characterizing 149 as “partially or fully blocked,” 102 as left in effect, and 107 pending, while other trackers like Just Security counted as many as 552 separate legal actions in overlapping categories [1]. Multiple outlets report that many executive orders and policy moves were immediately met with litigation and some were enjoined or overturned—an empirical record of legal conflict, not a courtroom-validated inventory of criminal or civil violations [3] [1].
2. What advocates and watchdogs are asserting: claims of lawlessness and constitutional breaches
Progressive legal groups and Democratic lawmakers frame the administration’s conduct as systemic attacks on the rule of law, citing mass firings of inspectors general, alleged illegal removals of ethics officials, and orders that they say usurp Congress’s power of the purse or exceed Article II authority [4] [5] [6]. Organizations such as the Campaign Legal Center, Brennan Center and ACS emphasize “relentless” challenges to separation-of-powers norms and document numerous cases and agency actions they view as unlawful, using litigation counts and examples to support that narrative [4] [6] [7].
3. What neutral reporters and legal analysts describe: tests of executive power, not an adjudicated crime count
Mainstream outlets and legal analysts portray the second term as a sustained stress test of presidential authority—more executive orders in year one than in Trump’s first full term, aggressive claims of near‑unlimited Article II power, and a flood of regulatory rollbacks and litigation that will take years to resolve in the courts [8] [9] [10]. Time’s legal survey finds many moves that “raise urgent legal and constitutional questions” and are already prompting lawsuits; those analyses are careful to distinguish plausible overreach from proven statutory or criminal violations [2].
4. Why a simple numeric answer is impossible with available sourcing
Counting “laws broken” would require criminal indictments, convictions, or final judicial findings that a specific statute was violated—outcomes the current reportage does not uniformly provide; the sources enumerate challenges, injunctions, and accusations but do not claim a completed, validated ledger of statutory breaches [1] [2]. Further complicating any count are competing interpretations of presidential authority, recent Supreme Court developments referenced by legal advocates, and ongoing litigation that can convert a contested action into a lawful policy if courts ultimately defer to the administration [7] [11].
5. Competing narratives and implicit agendas in the record
Advocacy and partisan briefs are prominent in the sources: Democratic committee statements and civil‑rights groups characterize the administration’s conduct as “lawless” and “relentless,” reflecting political and institutional pushback [5] [7], while the administration and some conservative jurists and outlets stress expanded executive prerogative and favorable Supreme Court rulings that may shield disputed acts—an interpretive tug‑of‑war that shapes how litigation counts are presented [11] [8]. The available reporting makes clear there are motivated framings on all sides; what can be measured now is litigation volume and judicial intervention, not an authoritative count of broken laws.
Conclusion
The best answer the record supports: there is no verified numeric total of laws broken by and during the second Trump administration in the sources provided; instead, there are hundreds of lawsuits and dozens of judicial blocks and challenges that document widespread legal conflict over administration actions, with final determinations left to courts and prosecutors [1] [3] [2]. Any definitive tally would require completed adjudications or criminal findings that the current reporting does not provide.