General Discussion

LAS14

(13,783 posts) Mon Jan 7, 2019, 08:03 PM Jan 2019

Do we have constitutional limits on the president declaring an emergency?

Are there historical examples of "presidents" becoming dictators by this strategy? In other countries, I mean, of course. It's sobering to see historical parallels between Trump and authoritarian leaders in history.

8 replies

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Highlight:

Do we have constitutional limits on the president declaring an emergency? (Original Post) LAS14 Jan 2019 OP

Seems there are a few laws that Trump can use... riversedge Jan 2019 #1

"Law to Remedy the Distress of People and Reich" dalton99a Jan 2019 #2

It's creepy seeing my biggest fears for America in black and white. lark Jan 2019 #3

DUer Kentuck has a thread on the Atlantic article on this. yardwork Jan 2019 #4

Thanks for the link. LAS14 Jan 2019 #7

A President of the US once rounded up American citizens and put them in concentration camps... PoliticAverse Jan 2019 #5

+1 dalton99a Jan 2019 #8

The Newshour had an excellent piece on this issue. Now I understand. LAS14 Jan 2019 #6

riversedge

(70,305 posts)

1. Seems there are a few laws that Trump can use...

Reply to LAS14 (Original post)

Mon Jan 7, 2019, 08:08 PM

Jan 2019

https://www.rollcall.com/news/whitehouse/white-house-details-7-billion-border-funding-boost

......It’s not clear what authorities to build the wall the administration would use, but one avenue could be a military construction authorization law enacted in 1982 that provides “construction authority in the event of a declaration of war or national emergency.” The statute says such an event would require use of the armed forces, and the construction project would have to be “necessary to support such use of the armed forces.”

Another possibility is anti-narcotics trafficking legislation codified as part of the fiscal 2017 defense authorization law, which allows the Secretary of Defense to “provide support” for activities including “construction of roads and fences and installation of lighting to block drug smuggling corridors across international boundaries of the United States.”

Senate Armed Services ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., said last week Congress could block the use of such authorities, arguing it would take money away from more pressing military construction and housing projects.

“The President needs to understand that there is bipartisan opposition to misusing defense dollars or treating the Pentagon like a campaign piggy bank,” Reed said in a statement.

Shelby said he didn’t know if Trump would attempt to use such authorities. “I believe the president has got a lot more power to defend this country as commander in chief than people realize,” he said. But Shelby stressed that the way to “do it right” is for Congress to act. “We’ve got to get together and put America first,” he said.....................

dalton99a

(81,590 posts)

2. "Law to Remedy the Distress of People and Reich"

Reply to LAS14 (Original post)

Mon Jan 7, 2019, 08:08 PM

Jan 2019

The Enabling Act (German: Ermächtigungsgesetz) of 1933, formally titled Gesetz zur Behebung der Not von Volk und Reich ("Law to Remedy the Distress of People and Reich" ),[1] was an amendment to the Weimar Constitution[citation needed] that gave the German Cabinet — in effect, Chancellor Adolf Hitler — the power to enact laws without the involvement of the Reichstag. The Enabling Act gave Hitler plenary powers and followed on the heels of the Reichstag Fire Decree, which had abolished most civil liberties and transferred state powers to the Reich government. The combined effect of the two laws was to transform Hitler's government into a legal dictatorship. ... Under the Act, the government had acquired the authority to pass laws without either parliamentary consent or control. These laws could (with certain exceptions) even deviate from the Constitution. The Act effectively eliminated the Reichstag as active players in German politics. While its existence was protected by the Enabling Act, for all intents and purposes it reduced the Reichstag to a mere stage for Hitler's speeches.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enabling_Act_of_1933

lark

(23,156 posts)

3. It's creepy seeing my biggest fears for America in black and white.

Reply to dalton99a (Reply #2)

Mon Jan 7, 2019, 08:13 PM

Jan 2019

That they come from Hitler is not at all surprising since he's (along with PUtin) one of drumpfs' heros.

yardwork

(61,711 posts)

4. DUer Kentuck has a thread on the Atlantic article on this.

Reply to LAS14 (Original post)

Mon Jan 7, 2019, 08:19 PM

Jan 2019

See https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/01/presidential-emergency-powers/576418/

The bad news is that there are a lot of emergency powers the president can grab, there are few constitutional limits, and yes, off the top of my head I can think of numerous dictators who grabbed power this way. The Atlantic article mentions that Turkey's president did so recently.

Hitler did this, too.