The Erickson rule of norms is defined as anything that Democrats do to preserve power while they are out of office which is then fiercely defended by the American media.
This is important to understand because Democrats are hyperbolically claiming that Trump has launched a coup against the administrative state by rooting out waste and abuse. Instead of evaluating the merits of his actions, the media has parroted the Democratic talking points by… you guessed it, claiming that Trump is upending norms.
The norm that Trump is upending is the longstanding practice of wasting American tax dollars on patently absurd causes. If Democrats wish to reestablish funding for transgender surgeries in the Congo, they should try winning the vote of a plurality of Americans in all seven swing states… just like Donald Trump.