Somehow, after what has felt like years, President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office have passed. In that time, the president has been even more destructive to both the Republican Party and our republic than I anticipated.
While I expected Trump to radically implement his vision for the country, I didn't think that Congress would be so complicit in his schemes. I trusted Republicans would do their job, at least. They haven't, and we're seeing the results of that.
Trump and his administration have been allowed to decimate our economy and foreign stance, among other things. The economy actually shrank during Trump's first 100 days.
The amount of damage he's done makes me nervous about what will be done over the next 100 days and beyond if Republicans don't realize this has to stop, or at least be dialed back.
Do you realize that Trump has only signed five bills since taking office, fewer than any other modern president until this point? Meanwhile, the GOP is bragging that Trump has ruled by executive order, signing 142 executive orders over the first 100 days, exceeding the pace of any president since Franklin Roosevelt.
How is that something to be proud of?
There are several reasons for this. A major one is the Senate filibuster, and another is the GOP's unwillingness to pursue legislation that requires the cooperation of Democrats. They have been willing to work with Democrats to pass necessary governing legislation, such as the government funding bill that allowed us to avoid a shutdown, but the gears of bipartisanship have ground to a halt.
Part of this is the Democrats' unwillingness to come to the negotiation table, but Republicans have little incentive to take on the challenge of crafting bipartisan legislation when Trump can simply act with the stroke of his pen.
This rule by executive order allows Trump to deviate from building consensus in the Republican Party on issues, such as trade. You don't have to build consensus when Congress lets you run rampant.
There are a select few legislative Republicans, such as Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, willing to criticize administration actions, and they ought to be commended. But the GOP as a whole has become the party of Trump. There is no room for dissent, and no room for him to be wrong.
In just over three months, Trump has eroded faith in the legitimacy of the courts, is undermining the core of due process and is ruling by executive order in a way that destroys the balance of power in our federal government.
Trump's tariff policy has been utterly destructive for America. It has weakened our relationships with our allies, ceded ground to our enemies, and will make American citizens poorer.
Americans are increasingly disapproving of Trump's job performance, and that trend is likely to continue as the economy worsens.
Trump has the lowest 100-day approval rating in the past 80 years.
Sadly, the soonest America can do anything about the new status quo is the 2026 midterm elections, when voters can pick a new Congress that is more willing to stifle Trump's actions and maybe legislate a political agenda.
Until then, Americans have no recourse against Trump's lunacy.
Over the next 100 days, there is little reason to think what is happening won't continue. Trump is only going to get worse.
The light at the end of the tunnel in all of this mess is that the Republican Party will be freed of Trump at the end of his term, when he is constitutionally precluded from a third term. Sadly, Trump can't even let us have that, with constant "trolling" of the prospect of him running again.
At this point, conservatives like me are forced to deal with Trump's schemes, even if they seem bizarre, because bizarre has often found a home in the age of Trump.
Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.