What led prominent Democrats and constitutional scholars to declare that the US is on the brink of a reckoning?

Two separate federal court incidents triggered these concerns. First, a federal judge accused the Trump administration of defying his order to unfreeze billions in federal aid, marking the first time a judge expressly accused the administration of ignoring a court ruling. In a separate case on the same day, federal employees in Washington informed a judge that the administration was defying another court order by not reinstating workers who had been put on leave. These instances of the White House allegedly disregarding judicial authority have prompted warnings of an impending constitutional crisis.