In the first weeks of his second term, President Donald Trump has wasted no time in flexing his political muscle. That much is clear.

Since taking office in January, he has ordered the suspension of all new asylum claims, cancelled refugee resettlement, frozen government hiring and spending, gutted agencies established by Congress, banned gender transition care for teenagers and offered a buyout deal for hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

The whirlwind of unilateral action on his campaign promises has pushed the limits of presidential power – and prompted legal challenges from Democrats, unions and legal groups. So far the federal courts have been the only substantive roadblocks to Trump's agenda, as judges have temporarily suspended some of the most contentious proposals, including an end to automatic citizenship for anyone born on US soil.

But Trump is pressing on - and seems headed for a showdown with the judiciary that could eventually end in the highest court in the land. This week, a Rhode Island judge said the Trump administration was clearly and openly defying his court order to unfreeze billions in federal funds. The White House responded by saying that "every action" the president took was "completely lawful".