CNN star Kaitlan Collins has been mocked for her hysterical response to Donald Trump’s first three weeks in the White House.
The White House Correspondent and anchor warned that the United States is ‘dangerously close to a constitutional crisis’ following Trump’s public challenge to the judicial branch of government.
‘We are three weeks into the second Trump presidency. Three weeks. And tonight, there are warnings that the U.S. is dangerously close to a constitutional crisis,’ she said.
Trump’s appointment of billionaire Elon Musk to run a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) sparked a flood of legal challenges, followed by judicial rulings trying to slow down his efforts.
Collins’ stern delivery has sparked a wave of responses on X, where critics described her as a ‘disgrace’ and accused her of unnecessarily stoking fears.
‘We are ALL laughing at you, Kaitlan Collins… you cried your last “wolf!” some time ago,’ another said.
‘Kaitlan Collins can’t tell the difference between a Constitutional Crisis & a Democrat full blown meltdown over Trump getting things done that he said he was going to do before the election.’
Collins said the ‘first shoe dropped’ on Tuesday when ‘a federal judge said the White House is defying his order to unfreeze billions of dollars in federal aid.’
The White House Correspondent and anchor warned that the United States is ‘dangerously close to a constitutional crisis’ following Trump ‘s public challenge to the judicial branch of government
Trump’s appointment of billionaire Elon Musk to run a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) sparked a flood of legal challenges, followed by judicial rulings trying to slow down his efforts
She said the comments marked the ‘first time that we’ve had a judge expressly accuse the Trump administration of ignoring a court ruling.’
But the president decried ‘activists and highly political judges’ for trying to slow down his executive orders and the work underway by DOGE.
Collins was not alone in voicing her concerns. She noted ‘prominent Democrats, and many of the nation’s top constitutional scholars, [are] declaring that the U.S. is on the brink of a reckoning.
‘The Trump Justice Department says the President should have the authority to decide how to run the government, and that these judges are over-reaching.’
Collins called out Vice President JD Vance by name, noting that while he hasn’t gone ‘as far’ as some of Trump’s other allies in defending his actions, he has ‘made clear where he sees the Judiciary’s limits.’
Vance – who studied law at Yale – criticized judges on social media for issuing rulings to halt Trump’s executive orders and actions.
‘If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal,’ Vance said. ‘If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal.’
Trump agreed with Vance’s assertion, while speaking on Air Force One.
Democrats continue to slam Musk and his team as they scrutinize the federal government, acting swiftly to cut government grants and reduce the workforce
‘The day you’re not allowed to look for theft and fraud etcetera, then we don’t have much of a country,’ he said in response to a question from DailyMail.com. ‘No judge should be allowed to make that kind of decision. It’s a disgrace.’
On Monday alone, five different federal judges ordered halts on Trump’s actions.
That included his directive to end birthright citizenship, slashing funding at the National institutes of health, a freeze on federal grants, and his firing of the government’s ethics czar.
One federal judge also temporarily restricted DOGE’s access to the Treasury Department’s payment and data systems.
The judge ordered officials to ‘destroy any and all copies of material downloaded from the Treasury Department’s records and systems.’
After the fact, Collins asked her viewers: ‘The question, tonight, of course, is, who determines what is legitimate power?’
‘As far as the judiciary is concerned, when judges issue rulings, they are dictating what you’re supposed to be doing, and not supposed to be doing, if they determine that you are breaking the law.
‘That’s how the legal system works, and the recourse is to appeal those rulings.’
United States Vice-President JD Vance sparked a controversy over a statement he made defending the Trump administration’s actions
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One
The White House condemned that legal effort from an ‘activist judge’ as ‘frivolous,’ and out of line.
It noted that Trump’s Senate-confirmed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had given Musk access to the data.
On Friday, a federal judge in Washington also ordered a pause on Trump’s efforts to put 2,2000 USAID employees on leave.
Trump’s attempted freeze of federal grants was also halted by a judge on January 31.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island said the White House had violated a court order to lift a freeze on federal spending.
Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the law school at the University of California, Berkeley told the New York Times that Trump was creating ‘a constitutional crisis.
‘There have been so many unconstitutional and illegal actions in the first 18 days of the Trump presidency. We never have seen anything like this,’ he said.
DOGE, run by Elon Musk, has moved forward at a breakneck pace
If the administration ultimately defies judicial orders, it could lead to a significant escalation of judicial actions that would quickly make it’s way to the Supreme Court.
DOGE has moved at a breakneck pace, as Musk’s lieutenants have been given the green light by Trump to dive into government systems despite ongoing protests from Democrats and federal workers.
Attorneys general of Democratic states are rapidly challenging all of Trump’s executive actions in an attempt to slow his rapid cuts.
On Tuesday, the president warned that any efforts to halt his momentum ‘will be very detrimental to finding the TRUTH, which is turning out to be a disaster for those involved in running our Government.
‘Much left to find. No Excuses!!!’
Trump continues to celebrate Musk’s achievements, asking him to expand his efforts to the Pentagon and the Department of Education.
‘BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE BEING FOUND. CAMPAIGN PROMISE. IMPORTANT FOR AMERICA!!!’ he wrote on Truth social in all-caps.