New York City traffic. California water rules. Middle school sports. Few local policies are outside the reach of Donald J. Trump’s federal government.

A month into Donald Trump’s first term, the president’s then-political sage Steve Bannon coined a doctrine to explain the conservative wrecking ball now demolishing the US government: “the deconstruction of the administrative state.

A familiar pattern has emerged since President Donald Trump returned to the White House less than three weeks ago: He makes a brash proposal, his opponents file a lawsuit and a federal judge puts the plan on hold.

A federal judge on Thursday paused the Trump administration's "buyout" offer for federal employees hours before it was set to expire. Multiple judges have now ordered freezes on President Trump's plan to end birthright citizenship.

Given Republican control of Congress, the confirmation of Trump ultra-loyalist Pamela Bondi as his attorney general and the president’s installation of members of his personal legal team at the top of the Justice Department, the independent court system may be the last bulwark against his instinct to wield expansive power.