Trump's Emergency Declarations Scrutinized: Insights from Elizabeth Goitein at the Brennan Center
Fireside Chat:
Hey there! Let's talk about the extra special powers some US presidents have, often known as emergency powers. President Trump, for example, has used these powers more than any other president in history. These powers can be a bit scary, if you ask Elizabeth Goitein from the Brennan Center for Justice. She's been studying emergency powers and the effect they have on the White House. Turns out, they've got her teeth grinding!
The Power to Raise Hell:
Emergency powers let the president do some pretty insane stuff that Congress would never normally let them do. During an emergency, the president can access over a hundred different provisions of law. Now, I know what you're thinking, "What kind of crazy laws are we talking about here?" Well, here's one: There's a provision called the Communications Act that dates all the way back to 1942. It gives the president the power to take over or shut down radio or wire communications facilities. Back then, that meant things like telephone calls or telegrams, but today, it could mean controlling US-based internet traffic. Can you imagine the president taking control of your social media account? Crazy, huh?
Shut off the Tubes:
And it doesn't stop at just the internet. The president could also potentially take over TV stations and start broadcasting whatever they want during an emergency. Of course, there'd be challenges, and hopefully, the courts would stand as a buffer. But Congress never put many safeguards in place, so who knows what could really happen!
Are We Really in an Emergency?:
The National Emergencies Act was actually passed in 1976 to rein in presidential use of emergency powers, but it turns out the law doesn't include a definition of a national emergency or any specific criteria that have to be met before one can be declared. And if you remember your 7th-grade civics class, you'll remember that Congress can terminate an emergency declaration pretty easily by passing what's called a legislative veto. But, you see, a few years after the law was passed, the Supreme Court ruled that legislative vetoes are unconstitutional. So, the president has all these emergency powers, but Congress can't really stop them.
The Hope for Change:
But all hope isn't lost! Legislation has been introduced in both the Senate and the House to reform the National Emergencies Act. These changes would require presidential declarations of emergency to expire automatically after 30 days unless Congress votes to approve the emergency declaration. And get this – in the Senate, the vote for this reform was 13-1. In the House, the vote was unanimous. Alas, like most things in politics, bipartisanship is hard to come by, and the legislation has yet to become law.
But, according to Elizabeth Goitein, it might just be a matter of time until this reform goes down! And maybe, just maybe, it'll make her teeth stop grinding. Fingers crossed!
- The use of emergency powers by presidents often extends to policy-and-legislation, especially in the realm of general-news, as they can bypass certain restrictions that Congress would impose under normal circumstances.
- In the recent US legislative efforts, there have been proposals to reform the National Emergencies Act, which could potentially curb the excessive use of emergency powers by presidents and provide a sense of assurance for citizens concerned about the misuse of these powers.
