As the cases progress, and judges have issued orders halting overreach on the part of Musk and Trump, a growing chorus on the right are urging them to ignore the courts. For constitutional and government scholars, this would be a fundamental step from democracy toward autocracy.

There are some signs the Trump administration is already not complying with judicial orders. On Monday, a federal judge said that the administration had violated his Jan. 31 order to distribute funding that has already been approved by Congress and signed into law by former President Joe Biden.