Can He Do That?

Donny John, members of the Cabinet, his lawyers, who should know better, and his benighted followers are laboring under the misconception that the president has the unlimited authority to act unilaterally on behalf of the government and the people of the United States.

He does not.

Say that again: He. Does. Not.

Let it sink in.

Having endured the abuses of George III, the Framers of the Constitution did all they could to keep the executive weak. Proposals ranged from having multiple executives, to avoid unilateral action, to having none. A faction called anti-Federalists most strongly opposed a single executive fearing "that cabals would develop to ensure his reelection, and that the presidential veto power would be abused. They further feared that presidential power to grant pardons would allow the president to conspire with others in treasonable activities with impunity."¹*

Sound familiar? It took more than two centuries to develop, but the fears of anti-Federalists like Patrick Henry, George Mason, and Samuel Adams have been realized.

Sort of. It is not by accident that Congress is the first branch of government presented in the Constitution. Congress holds the most power in the tripartite government.

So what can the president legally do?

"The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

"He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: [and]

"The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session. [and] 

"He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States."²

I've included virtually all of the language of Article II sections 2 and 3 of the Constitution lest I be accused of leaving out some critical bit of authority. If you take the time to parse the above paragraphs carefully you'll find the the president of the United States is constitutionally granted 12 powers (or 11 or 13, depending on how you interpret them), of which about half are ceremonial or administrative.

You might also note that he does not have the constitutional authority to do most of what he's doing, and that a lot of the authority he does have is contingent on the advice and consent of Congress. Call your senators and representatives to remind them of this fact and tell them they should stop letting Trump usurp their authority. 

Someone should be looking into that.

---Diogenes, 19 March 2025

 

¹ "The Debate Over The President And The Executive Branch," University of Wisconsin-Madison, Center for the Study of the American Constitution, https://csac.history.wisc.edu/document-collections/constitutional-debates/executive-branch/. Accessed 18 March 2025.  

* To get a sense of how great the fear and hatred of a single executive was, read the Declaration of Independence. Although it's couched in civil language it's still a massive putdown and the very essence of contemnation.  https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript .

² The Constitution of the United States of America, Article II, Sections 2 and 3. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution-transcript#page-header Accessed 19 March, 2025.