Donald Trump couldn’t really do all of the off-the-wall things he is calling for, some of his defenders are saying. He’d have to have Congressional action. Congress and the courts would keep him in line. Well, the modern presidency has expanded its powers so much, says Marc Fisher, that he actually could do most of them.
In fact, thanks to recent presidents–including Barack Obama–our Constitutional system of each branch of the government checking and balancing each other, is seriously out of whack. Fisher concludes with a chilling sentence: “’Today’s system of checks and balances,’” [law professor Neal Devins] said , ‘is an abject failure.’”
This is part of what conservatives mean when they call for a “limited government.” Our government today is unlimited. And the powers of the presidency are becoming unlimited.
From Marc Fisher, Donald Trump and the expanding power of the presidency – The Washington Post:
Donald Trump has promised not only to be the voice of the American people but also to take decisive, immediate action. As president, he has said he would move fast to destroy the Islamic State, scrap bad trade deals, build that wall, “stop the gangs and the violence,” and “stop the drugs from pouring into our communities.” He would “immediately suspend immigration” from countries where terrorism is rampant. He might even defy treaty obligations and decline to aid NATO allies.
The Republican nominee has led some to conclude that he intends a sweeping expansion of presidential authority. His rhetoric implies a muscular, almost unitary, presidency that would be at least as expansive as what historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. famously dubbed the “imperial presidency” — his critique of Richard Nixon’s abuse of power in the era of Watergate and Vietnam.
But scholars of the presidency say that Barack Obama, George W. Bush and their predecessors have added so many powers to the White House toolbox that a President Trump could fulfill many of his promises legally — and virtually unchecked by a Congress that has proven incapable of mustering much pushbackfor decades .
“Every president expands the power of the presidency,” said Neal Devins, a law professor at the College of William & Mary. “This is a constant pattern. They never shrink the presidency. A President Trump could say, ‘I’m going to use the Obama playbook’ and go pretty far.
[Keep reading. . .]
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