Mitt Romney warned at Harvard Kennedy School that the United States is drifting toward authoritarianism, citing a Congress that has ceded too much power to the executive branch and a federal judiciary increasingly viewed through a partisan lens. The former Utah senator made the case during an April 2026 conversation at the Institute of Politics, arguing that the legislative branch is no longer serving as a meaningful check on presidential power.
“Is the legislative branch serving as a check on the president of their own party? Not really,” Romney said, speaking with historian Jill Lepore. “That was not true when President Biden was in office—the Democrat senators and Democrat House did precisely what he wanted—and it’s not true [with] President Trump.” He added that lawmakers follow their party’s president “almost in lockstep” when they fear losing their seats.
Romney, a 2012 Republican presidential nominee and Harvard Law and Business School graduate, faulted both political parties for weakening checks on presidential power. He pointed to the Senate’s elimination of the 60-vote threshold for judicial confirmations as a turning point that politicized the courts. “Now we have a judiciary increasingly recognized as being political,” Romney said. “If you hear about a case that goes against President Trump, someone always says, ‘Oh, I’ll bet it was an Obama judge or a Biden judge.’ We didn’t used to say that.”
Romney cited examples of executive overreach spanning both administrations. He criticized former President Joe Biden for unilaterally forgiving student debt without congressional approval, calling it “a pretty authoritarian thing,” while saying Trump has done “far more than his share” to expand executive power. He also faulted Trump’s foreign policy approach, questioning decisions to antagonize allies like Canada and Greenland.
The broader context for Romney’s concerns extends beyond individual presidents. According to reporting from PBS, 68% of Americans say the system of checks and balances dividing power between the White House, Congress, and the courts is not working well. Academic analysis has documented that over the past 25 years, presidential power has grown exponentially while Congress’s capacity to check the executive branch has diminished, a trend Romney emphasized as a structural threat to democracy itself.
Romney attributed much of this dysfunction to modern electoral politics. He argued that closed primary systems reward ideological extremes, forcing candidates to appeal to polarized factions rather than moderate voters. He also highlighted the fragmentation of the information environment through social media and the growing influence of billionaire donors like Elon Musk, who could potentially fund candidates aligned with their policy preferences.
On potential remedies, Romney proposed limiting presidential pardons—suggesting a constitutional amendment barring presidents from pardoning donors who contributed more than $1 million to their campaigns. He expressed skepticism that the 25th Amendment could serve as a meaningful check on a sitting president unless they were “unconscious,” but argued for restoring the 60-vote Senate requirement for federal judicial confirmations to reduce partisanship in the courts.
Romney closed on a note of cautious optimism, suggesting that American democracy had historically recovered from periods of crisis through strong leadership or generational change. “I have faith in America,” he said. “I’m convinced that our best days are ahead.”
Sources
- Harvard Magazine — Romney’s April 2026 conversation at Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics, his warnings on executive power, and his analysis of judicial politicization and structural threats to democracy.
- The Harvard Crimson — Romney’s remarks on Congress following the president “almost in lockstep,” his criticism of both Biden and Trump for executive overreach, and his proposed constitutional remedies.
- PBS NewsHour — Public polling showing 68% of Americans believe checks and balances are not working well.
