President Donald Trump came into office with plans to enact his agenda at breakneck speed, and to some extent, its working. Less than 100 days into his second term, Trump has already issued 99 executive orders a shock and awe approach meant to overwhelm his opposition and signal decisive action to his supporters.However, the courts have emerged as a key obstacle slowing down the implementation of Trumps policies. Advocates for the many people suffering from those policies including immigrants, scientists, government workers, and the other everyday Americans who rely on them are suing the administration and racking up key wins. Nearly 140 lawsuits have challenged Trumps executive actions so far, according to Just Securitys litigation tracker. Many of them have centered on the efforts spearheaded by Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency to slash staffing and spending across the federal government. But they have also focused on Trumps attacks on undocumented immigrants and on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility policies in government and beyond. So far, federal courts have already blocked, in part or in whole, many of Trumps executive actions at least for now. That includes his ban on transgender military servicemembers, his executive order ending birthright citizenship, his efforts to fire thousands of probationary government employees, his attempts to deport people under an obscure 18th-century law, and more. Some of those blocks could later be lifted or made permanent in ongoing litigation and appeals that could reach the Supreme Court. Its not clear to what extent the courts will be able to delay, if not entirely stop, some of Trumps policies from going into effect. Notably, blocks on some of Trumps policies stayed in place through the end of his first term because courts ran out of time to resolve legal challenges to them. Trumps proposals to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, create work requirements for Medicaid, and put a citizenship status question on the 2020 census never went into effect as a result. But in his second term, his administration has hit the ground running, allowing more time for lawsuits to play out and policies to take effect. He was also able to reshape the judiciary during his first term by appointing conservative judges who might favor his policies. There is also a question of what this Supreme Court will do. As the ultimate interpreter of the law and the Constitution, the court will play a major role in checking or abetting Trumps power grabs. (My colleague Ian Millhiser breaks down two cases in particular to follow.) And then there is the concern that Trump will continue to ignore court orders. The US is arguably facing a constitutional crisis after the administration did not abide by a judges order to turn around planes transporting accused Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare public rebuke of Trump after the president attacked the judge in the El Salvador case as a Radical Left Lunatic. Trump and his administration are determined to expand the presidents power, even when that means disrupting the Constitutions system of checks and balances or trampling civil liberties. With congressional Republicans complicit in that power grab, the courts have emerged as the Constitutions most effective defense at least for now.See More: