German ambassador warns Trump will test the US constitutional order, report says

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BERLIN (AP) — The German ambassador to Washington wrote in a report back to Berlin that he expects Donald Trump in his second presidency to largely undermine the system of democratic checks and balances in the United States, the German news agenda dpa reported on Sunday.

Ambassador Andreas Michaelis said in his confidential diplomatic report that the Trump agenda would rob the legislative branch, law enforcement and media of their independence.

His diplomatic note was sent to the German Foreign Ministry and to the office of Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin last week, dpa reported.

The report was made available to several media outlets, including dpa, and was being reported in Germany on the eve of Trump’s inauguration Monday.

Michaelis wrote that he expected Trump’s agenda to bring a “maximum concentration of power in the hands of the president at the expense of Congress and the states.”

His policy “of maximum disruption, the breaking up of the established political order and bureaucratic structures as well as his plans for revenge ultimately mean a redefinition of the constitutional order,” Michaelis wrote.

The Foreign Ministry said it does not comment on internal papers, analyses or embassy reports as a matter of principle. However, it said it is clear that the U.S. is one of Germany’s most important allies.

“The Americans chose President Trump in a democratic election. Of course, we will also work closely with the new U.S. administration in the interests of Germany and Europe,” it said, according to dpa.