The issue is whether they are following the law or not.
(Advice and consent of the Senate for cabinet positions isn't meaningless, but they instruct the executive by statute not by directives given to cabinet members)
This is literally a textbook example of how autocrats take over. It has happened before and all the rules for that game are being played out right now.
It's interesting to note that Trump has placed a portrait of Andrew Jackson in the Oval Office, as there are many parallels between Trump's rise to power and Jackson's.
> In a popular quotation that is believed to be apocryphal, President Andrew Jackson reportedly responded: "John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!" This derives from Jackson's comments on the case in a letter to John Coffee, "...the decision of the Supreme Court has fell still born, and they find that they cannot coerce Georgia to yield to its mandate".
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcester_v._Georgia#Effects
A President wielding Presidential authority is not a coup, it's acting within the authority given to the office via the Constitution and Congress. If you believe the President has too much power then I would urge you to be doing all you can to limit the power of the office, not just change who is in it.
There's a bunch of stays issued by federal courts that are based on questioning whether the administration is doing that.
I don't mind sharing that I voted for Trump. I'm not a cheerleader for him, though, my reasons for doing so are limited in scope and he has yet to act to support my interests. That said, all signs seem to indicate that he will do so.
The absolute best thing that could come from a Trump presidency is if Congress and the courts were able to significantly restrain the authority of the Executive Branch in general and the President in particular. It has grown far beyond its Constitutional bounds.
(You know, the premise of the link)
Do you think we'd have a better chance to save it in four years? or forty?
We've clearly been trending toward increased executive power since our founding. If it's too late now it'll be too late later.
There are a lot of "if"s in this discussion. Trump has only thus far fulfilled some of his campaign promises. We're discussing potential outcomes if he were to exceed his authority and refuse to yield to the rule of law. I don't believe that will happen.