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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Atlantic: What the President Could Do If He Declares a State of Emergency
From seizing control of the internet to declaring martial law, President Trump may legally do all kinds of extraordinary things. The moment the president declares a national emergencya decision that is entirely within his discretionhe is able to set aside many of the legal limits on his authority.
In the weeks leading up to the 2018 midterm elections, President Donald Trump reached deep into his arsenal to try to deliver votes to Republicans.
Most of his weapons were rhetorical, featuring a mix of lies and false inducementsclaims that every congressional Democrat had signed on to an open borders bill (none had), that liberals were fomenting violent mobs (they werent), that a 10 percent tax cut for the middle class would somehow pass while Congress was out of session (it didnt). But a few involved the aggressive useand threatened misuseof presidential authority: He sent thousands of active-duty soldiers to the southern border to terrorize a distant caravan of desperate Central American migrants, announced plans to end the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship by executive order, and tweeted that law enforcement had been strongly notified to be on the lookout for ILLEGAL VOTING.
These measures failed to carry the day, and Trump will likely conclude that they were too timid. How much further might he go in 2020, when his own name is on the ballotor sooner than that, if hes facing impeachment by a House under Democratic control. More is at stake here than the outcome of one or even two elections. Trump has long signaled his disdain for the concepts of limited presidential power and democratic rule. During his 2016 campaign, he praised murderous dictators. He declared that his opponent, Hillary Clinton, would be in jail if he were president, goading crowds into frenzied chants of Lock her up. He hinted that he might not accept an electoral loss. As democracies around the world slide into autocracy, and nationalism and antidemocratic sentiment are on vivid display among segments of the American populace, Trumps evident hostility to key elements of liberal democracy cannot be dismissed as mere bluster.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/01/presidential-emergency-powers/576418/
dalton99a
(81,478 posts)This edifice of extraordinary powers has historically rested on the assumption that the president will act in the countrys best interest when using them. With a handful of noteworthy exceptions, this assumption has held up. But what if a president, backed into a corner and facing electoral defeat or impeachment, were to declare an emergency for the sake of holding on to power? In that scenario, our laws and institutions might not save us from a presidential power grab. They might be what takes us down.
This is all it takes:
empedocles
(15,751 posts)Executive power, very poorly defined. 123 statutes granting power., etc.
pecosbob
(7,538 posts)but I think we all know how that would go.
it appears only congress will have power over president in case of declared emergency. Courts decisions will not be enforceable during emergency.
sunonmars
(8,656 posts)Charlotte Little
(658 posts)All those years that the conspiracy nuts claimed Obama was going to call martial law and here we are - with an actual madman in office who may very well do it.
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,342 posts)It has been the RW method for a very long time; they accuse everyone else of what they have done or intend to do.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Bring it on asshole!
sunonmars
(8,656 posts)The stock market would go through the floor. Not to mention the civil unrest.
Buckeyeblue
(5,499 posts)Bettie
(16,100 posts)boss probably want to happen.
Buckeyeblue
(5,499 posts)RestoreAmerica2020
(3,435 posts)sinkingfeeling
(51,454 posts)Response to Mrs. Overall (Original post)
elocs This message was self-deleted by its author.
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,342 posts)Hopefully, impeachment can be put off until some investigations are complete.