Power, once given, is never returned. What a shame past Congresses ignored that timeless lesson:
How Trump Has Exposed Congress’ Self-inflicted WeaknessesOver time, Congress has ceded its constitutional authority to the president. It’s only gotten worse since Trump took office.(...) Ever since Trump took office and he began to push the boundaries of constitutionally permissible behavior—beginning with the Muslim ban and the firing of his FBI director, right up to declaring a state of emergency to fund his border wall—people have asked versions of the question: Can he do that?
But it’s the wrong question. The right question is: When he does that, what’s the consequence? If the answer to the second question is “nothing,” then the answer to the first question is “yes.” Without actual enforcement and consequences, then rules—even ones laid down in a document as revered as the Constitution—become meaningless.
There are two branches of government that can apply those consequences—Congress and the courts. But like a parent who fails to discipline an unruly child, Congress has allowed its own authority to lapse or crumble—on impeachment, on war powers, on oversight and on budgetary matters. And that squandered power has shifted to the executive branch. Indeed, one can argue that Congress, by failing to enforce its own prerogatives, is effectively rewriting the Constitution. These de facto constitutional amendments, largely occurring without the public’s awareness, are of staggering importance. And they may well turn out to be just as permanent as if they had been ratified by three-quarters of the states.
