DUO IS HERE TO BREAK DOWN THE BUDGET TALK CHALLENGES AT THE STATE CAPITOL.

>> ERIC: POLITICAL NEWS OUT OF THE NATION'S CAPITOL IS WHERE WE START TONIGHT.

THIS WEEK HAS BROUGHT MORE COURT DECISIONS.

ELON MUSK HAS LEFT THE ADMINISTRATION.

AND THE U.S. SENATE HAS YET TO TAKE ACTION ON THE BUDGET BILL PASSED BY THE HOUSE LAST WEEK.

DAVID SCHULTZ TEACHES POLITICAL SCIENCE AT HAMLINE UNIVERSITY AND IS ALSO AN ADJUNCT LAW PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS.

A LOT OF ACTION WITH TRUMP IS IN THE COURTS AND I WONDER, WHAT'S THE SCORE CARD?

>> WHAT THE SCORE CARD IS RIGHT NOW IS TRUMP LOSING MOSTLY IN THE COURTS AND THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE SAW IN HIS FIRTH TERM.

LOOK AT ALL THE PRESIDENTS BACK TO ROOSEVELT AND LOOK AT THEIR TRACK RECORD IN COURT, TRUMP HAS THE WORST TRACK RECORD OF ANY PRESIDENT.

THE LAST 80 YEARS.

HE'S WINNING LESS THAN 50% OF HIS CASES IN COURT.

AND THE SAME THING IS HAPPENING NOW.

I THINK THE NUMBER RIGHT NOW IS WAY LESS THAN 50%.

SO I'LL TEACH -- DO REALLY QUICK CONSTITUTIONAL LAW.

PRESIDENTS CAN EITHER DO THINGS BECAUSE THEY HAVE INHERENT CONSTITUTIONAL POWER TO DO IT, OR THEY'RE DELEGATED POWER FROM CONGRESS.

IN THE CASE OF TRUMP, HE'S LOSING BECAUSE HE'S EITHER NOT GOING WITHIN THE DOMAINS OF WHAT DELEGATED POWER HE > HAS, OR HE'S ACTING BEYOND THE POWER THAT HE HAS AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

AND THAT'S WHAT THE COURTS ARE SAYING.

HE'S ALSO LOSING, BECAUSE WHAT?

IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO CERTAIN THINGS, THERE'S RULES AND PROCESS YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW AND HE'S NOT FOLLOWING IT.

>> Cathy: OKAY, SO HE'S LOSING IN COURT, BUT ARE WE SEEING ANY RAMIFICATIONS TO THESE LOSSES IN COURT?

>> THEY KEEP PILING UP.

ON ONE LEVEL, PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SAY, WELL, DOES IT REALLY MATTER?

IT ACTUALLY DOES MATTER BECAUSE WHAT'S HAPPENING IS THAT HE'S GETTING TIED UP IN COURT.

HAVING TO SPEND INCREDIBLE AMOUNTS OF RESOURCES, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT RESOURCES TO KEEP DEFENDING HILLSELF, IN SOME CASES, HE HAS TO FIGURE OUT WAY TEAS TO TRY TO WORK AROUND THEM.

SO HE'S GOING THROUGH THE SAME PATTERN HE WENT THROUGH IN HIS FIRST TERM WHERE HE SPENT SO MUCH TIME IN COURT THAT IT REALLY TAKES AWAY FROM THE EFFECTIVENESS OR THE ABILITY FOR HIM TO DO ANYTHING.

>> Cathy: THERE WAS A LAWSUIT FILED TODAY BY PBS AND LAKELAND PUBLIC TELEVISION BASED IN BEMIDJI, MINNESOTA, IN FAR NORTHERN MINNESOTA.

THEY'RE SAYING THAT THE EXECUTIVE ORDERS TO BLOCK CPB MONEY IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

AND THEY SAY CONGRESS HAS THE POWER, NOT TRUMP, TO FUND OR DEFUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING.

WHERE IS CONGRESS?

WELL, CONGRESS IS AT THAT POINT NOT DOING ITS JOB UNDER CHECKS AND BALANCES AND SEPARATION OF POWERS.

CONGRESS COULD COME IN AND SAY, YES, WE'RE GOING TO DEFUND AND PASS A LAW TO BASICALLY DO THAT.

BUT IT'S NOT DOING IT AND IT'S SORT OF A ACQUIESCING TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND THIS GETS BACK TO MY- COMMENT FROM BEFORE HERE.

AGAIN, AMONG OTHER THINGS, WHAT?

APPROPRIATIONS AND SPENDING ARE LODGED WITH CONGRESS AND WHEN THEY PASS LAWS, THAT DETERMINES WHO GETS FUNDED OR DOESN'T GET FUNDED.

AND HERE THE PRESIDENT CAN'T JUST UNILATERALLY CUT THE FUNDS.

THIS IS THE BATTLE THAT WE'VE 50 YEARS WITH RICHARD NIXON WHO TRIED TO SAY THAT I'M NOT GOING TO SPEND FUNDS THAT CONGRESS HAS APPROPRIATED.

AND THE PRESIDENT LOST THEN.

SO THE ARGUMENT THAT'S BEING MADE HERE IS THE PRESIDENT IS USING POWERS THAT HE DOES NOT HAVE.

HE'S OT DELEGATED THIS AUTHORITY.

HE DOESN'T HAVE INHERENT PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORITY TO DO WHAT HE WANTS TO DO.

>> Eric: HAS PRESIDENT TRUMP REDEFINED THE OUTER LIMITS OF THE PRESIDENCY PERMANENTLY OR IS THIS A NE-OFF?

>> I THINK IT'S A COMBINATION OF BOTH.

I THINK HE'S ALSO DEFINED IT ONE OFF IN TERMS OF WHAT THE SUPREME COURT DID, FOR EXAMPLE, IN TRUMP VERSUS THE UNITED STATES.

SAID LAST YEAR, THAT THE PRESIDENTS CAN'T BE INDICTED FOR ACTION WHILE THEY'RE SITTING PRESIDENT.

BUT, YEAH, HE'S CLEARLY PUSHED THE PRESIDENCY FAR BEYOND WHAT WE NORMALLY THINK AND WHERE HE'S MOSTLY PUSHED THE PRESIDENCY IS IN TERMS OF WHAT WE WOULD CALL UNWRITTEN NORMS, EXPECT PRESIDENTS OR PEOPLE IN GOVERNMENT NOT TO DO CERTAIN THINGS.

>> Cathy: YOU TAUGHT IN EUROPE.

YOU'VE HAVE TIES TO EUROPE.

I'M WONDERING WHAT YOU THINK OF CPAC, THAT GROUP OF AMERICAN REPUBLICANS HOLDING THEIR MEETING IN HUNGARRY AND POLE YENNED.

IN HUNGARRY YOU HAVE VIKTOR ORBAN.

WHY ARE REPUBLICANS SO ENAMORED WITH THIS GUY?

AND DO YOU SEE THE POTENTIAL OF THINGS HAPPENING HERE?

>> WELL, THIS IS AN INTERESTING QUESTION.

IN TERMS OF -- BECAUSE DONALD TRUMP IS VERY MUCH ENAMORED BY STRONG MEN.

HE'S ACTING AS KIND OF LIKE A STRONG EXECUTIVE.

AND IN SOME SENSE, TRUMP HAS EMBRACED ORBAN, HAS EMBRACED SOME OF THESE STRONG EXECUTIVES ACROSS THE WORLD AND FOR THE REPUBLICANS WHO WANT TO BE IN GOOD GRACES WITH HIM, I THINK THEY'RE ALSO SIMILARLY SUPPORTING HIM.

BUT ALSO WHAT WE SEE IN PLACES LIKE HUNGARY, FOR EXAMPLE, IS A VERY SIMILAR DIVIDE LIKE THE UNITED STATES.

THE CITIES SUCH AS THE BUT YA PEST ARE VOTING OVERWHELMINGLY FOR THE OPPOSITION VERSUS THE RURAL AREAS ARE MUCH MORE SUPPORTIVE OF TRADITIONAL VALUES AND THAT LINES UP EXACTLY WHERE THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS UNDER TRUMP RIGHT NOW.

>> Eric: YOUR BEST 30 SECONDS ON HARVARD.

>> YOU'RE PICKING ON AN INSTITUTION THAT HAS A LOT OF MONEY WITH A LOT OF LEGAL TALENT TO FIGHT BACK.

THIS IS GOING TO BE AN INTERESTING TO SEE.

THE HEAD HE -- HAD HE PICKED ON, I DON'T KNOW, THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, THAT DOESN'T HAVE THE SAME LEGAL RESOURCES.

SO IN TERMS OF THAT FIGHT, HARVARD'S GOING TO PROBABLY WIN MOST OF THOSE LEGAL BATTLES BECAUSE THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF SEPARATION OF POWERS, DISCRIMINATION ISSUES, BUT IF WE GO IN A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT DIRECTION, IT'S ABOUT HITTING HARVARD ALSO HITS AT THE CENTER OF A LOT OF OUR LEARNING.