How much power does the US president actually have?
The US political system has been designed with guardrails against authoritarianism, but how powerful are these checks and balances?
When the founding fathers established the US Constitution, they sought to limit the president’s power — breaking away from the tradition of monarchy.
On election day, more than 200 years later, these structures still stand, with the US government divided into three branches: legislative, executive and judicial.
The legislative branch encompasses Congress, which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate, while the judicial branch includes the Supreme Court and the federal court system.
The executive arm of power, meanwhile, includes the president, the vice president, and the cabinet.
When it comes to the president’s role, he or she is not just the head of state but also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
The president is also responsible for enforcing the laws written by Congress. To this end, the president enlists the help of the Cabinet, whose members he or she appoints.
The top title comes with the power to veto bills enacted by Congress, although the legislative branch can override this veto with a two-thirds vote in both houses.
Additionally, a US president has the power to issue pardons for federal crimes, sign treaties with foreign powers (ratified by the Senate), and issue executive orders.
An executive order is a command from the president, although these orders are not meant to make new laws or violate existing legislation. Executive orders can also be legally challenged if they violate the Constitution.
Emergency powers
On the subject of presidential powers, Donald Trump set pulses racing when he suggested he would only be a “dictator” on “day one” of a potential second mandate.
Re-enacting an exchange with a Fox News host, Trump said: “‘You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?’ I said: ‘No, no, no, other than day one. We’re closing the border, and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.’”
Trump was suggesting that he would only overstep checks and balances to create a robust border between Mexico and the United States.
Whilst the term “dictator” may have been used in jest, Trump has, in fact, already pushed the limits of presidential powers.
During his first term in office, the Republican candidate diverted military funding to build parts of the border wall with Mexico.
This came after Congress refused to offer the requested funding — prompting Trump to declare a national emergency to sidestep this decision.
ADVERTISEMENTAt the time, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement that this was “a power grab by a disappointed president, who has gone outside the bounds of the law to try to get what he failed to achieve in the constitutional legislative process.”
A federal appeals court ruled in 2020 that this move by the Trump administration was illegal.
In another example, Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate political rival and incumbent President Joe Biden and his son.
He has also pushed the Justice Department to investigate those he views as political enemies — including former Republican lawmaker Liz Cheney and election workers.
ADVERTISEMENTAmerica’s Doomsday Book
Informally dubbed the “US Doomsday Book”, the Presidential Emergency Action Documents (PEADs) contain executive orders, proclamations, and messages to Congress that are prepared in anticipation of emergencies.
The contents of these documents are not available to the public or Congress — but only shared on a need-to-know basis.
During Trump’s first term, Time magazine reported that national security staff kept him from learning “the full extent of these interpretations of presidential authority, concerned that he would abuse them,” citing interviews with national security officials.
It’s also worth noting that the bounds of impunity for a US president have also shifted since then.
ADVERTISEMENTEarlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled six to three that presidents may claim some immunity from criminal prosecution linked to actions taken whilst in office.
According to a PBS poll published in April, only about two in 10 Americans said it would be “a good thing” for the next president to be able to change policy without deferring to Congress or the courts.
Even so, nearly six in 10 Republicans said it would be a good thing for Trump to have this kind of power if he were re-elected.
If Biden were re-elected (Harris was not yet the Democratic nominee at the time of the poll), four in 10 Democrats thought it would be positive for him to be able to act unilaterally.
ADVERTISEMENTWhile bypassing Congress can improve efficiency, the legislative branch acts as a safety rail against the abuse of power.
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