Here is a partial list of powers given to the President:
The big one:
-- Under the War Powers Resolution, take any military action anywhere in the world and notify congress within 48 hours, and seek approval within 60 days. As a de facto matter, the President has full command and control of the largest military apparatus in the history of the world.
Some others:
-- Thanks to the AUMF, the president doesn't need congressional approval to fight terrorism wherever it is on earth.
-- Order the murder of anyone on earth. This includes American citizens, by declaring them enemy combatants.
-- Issue Executive Orders will full force of law. These tell federal employees what to do, more or less.
-- Appoint over 4,000 employees to leadership positions within the federal government
-- Make agreements with foreign nations, which need congressional approval. These are different from treaties, but i don't want to go into the differences right now.
-- Declare states of emergency, which greatly broaden the powers of the federal government
-- Federalize the national guard.
-- Appoint judges & justices, set policy and tone.
I've missed some big ones. This is a small partial list. Don't let anyone tell you the President can't do things.
And with both chambers of congress, the powers are effectively unlimited.
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You're right. Every time I think, "No, things can't possibly happen that way, it would be too horrible!" will now be changed to, "Yes, that's actually probably going to happen."
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of you when I wrote this, Rocio Goodey . And only now it occured to me that it wasn't very nice, since we're all griving. I'm sorry.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Nichols no, it's fine. I took it in the spirit of education, which is important at a time like this.
ReplyDeleteOnly really vaguely aware of the first one, interesting to see it laid out like that.
ReplyDeleteForgive me. I am not feeling well. The War Powers Resolution isn't a particularly arcane piece of law, and wikipedia spells it out in pretty straightforward detail. The AUMF is a little more technical, but not really.
ReplyDeleteI know that most people don't pay attention to what goes on inside the beltway. But, we're fighting the longest war in US history, and are do so without a formal declaration of war. Instead, we're using authorizations and the possibly unconstitutional WPR.
I don't really understand why people don't know that.
Oh um important context clarification (at least in defence of my ignorance on this topic), I'm Canadian so I suppose understanding the US presidential powers/specifics isn't something of concern for me nor something we have ever really studied beyond the broad strokes of how the US repbulic works (and even then it's rather strange to us).
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I'm interested in what it means today given the terrible outcome of the election. And that your new president-elect is much more likely to use as much as can be used to do things.
Oh, Mark Richardson , legit excuse. Absolutely. I can barely spell Trudeau, and have no inkling what sort of military power he can immediately control.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, it means nothing good for the world. Over the last 50-100 years, we've given the President more and more executive power, as Congress refused to do its job. And now, we've given predator drones, nukes, and seal team six to that man.