From the moment he claimed victory in the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump and his Republican allies have vastly overstated the mandate the American people gave them.

Trump, in the wee hours of that Wednesday morning, called it an “unprecedented and powerful mandate.” And prominent Republicans have spoken as if the voters’ verdict is justification to do pretty much whatever Trump wants — to launch into a far-reaching overhaul of American government and confirm extreme Cabinet picks with extensive baggage, for example.