At a recent White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing, President Trump raised eyebrows and drew widespread criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike when he claimed that he had “total” authority to decide how and when states reopen their economies in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. Governors from both political parties were quick to emphasize that these are matters for individual states to decide, under the powers guaranteed to them by the 10th Amendment, which outlines that the powers not delegated to the federal government by the United States’ Constitution are reserved for the states or for the people. Avoiding the concentration of power in one level or branch of government is a vital component of our political system, and the 10th Amendment was written to help ensure that the federal government would not be able to impose the kind of absolute authority that plagues other nations around the world. Our system of government was framed to prevent excessive empowerment of a centralized authority, and as such, Trump’s controversial comments have been rightfully condemned across the board.
In the aftermath of his comments, a wide array of Democratic and Republican elected officials – including both governors and lawmakers – were quick to rebuke the president. Groups of governors on the West Coast and in the Northeast said that they would form coalitions in order to consider when to reopen their respective states. Governor of California Gavin Newsom, Governor of Washington Jay Inslee, and Governor of Oregon Kate Brown announced that they would coordinate plans to reopen businesses according to health data on the safety of doing so. Additionally, a similar alliance was made between the governors of New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island.
Trump’s claim also sparked bipartisan pushback among federal-level lawmakers. Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney tweeted on Monday night that the federal government does not have absolute power, and referenced the 10th Amendment of the United States’ Constitution. Florida Senator Marco Rubio chimed in as well, tweeting that “how and when to modify physical distancing orders should and will be made by governors” and that while federal guidelines will be influential, “the Constitution and common sense dictates these decisions be made at the state level.” Several lawmakers went as far as introducing a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives challenging the president’s controversial rhetoric.
Furthermore, legal experts contend that the power to act in the face of the ongoing health crisis lies primarily with states and localities, not the federal government. Ultimately, U.S. law provides state governors with the authority to protect the health and safety of their citizens. William Buzbee, a professor at Georgetown University Law School and an expert in federalism, argues that “state and local governments have strong police power to protect their citizens and so I’m unaware of any way in which the federal government could basically try to override anything the states and cities have been doing to protect the public health of their citizens.” Other analysts have echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that the federal government’s main role in a public health emergency is to share information and resources with states, who in turn are responsible for protecting their respective citizens.
President Trump’s statement that he has the authority to force governors to reopen their states even contradicts his own comments on the issue in recent weeks. On multiple occasions, Trump himself has argued that individual states, not the federal government, should determine their response to the ongoing health crisis. This was a common theme of his early White House Coronavirus Task Force briefings, where he emphasized that leaving it up to states was “from a constitutional standpoint, the way it should be done.” In fact, he used this as justification for refusing to pressure states to implement stay-at-home orders, citing a belief that local governments should have control over the matter and are best equipped to make their own decisions.
Following the condemnation he received for his “total” authority remarks, President Trump backtracked his comments later in the week and said that governors would be responsible for reopening the economy in their respective states. In order to aid their efforts in doing so, his administration released a guidance document which details three phases for reopening state economies. During Trump’s Thursday conference call with all 50 state governors discussing the guidelines, he told the group that “You’re going to call your own shots. You’re going to be running it, we’re going to be helping you.” Ultimately, this three-phase plan provides recommendations for localities to gradually ease their restrictions once they meet certain criteria, but it leaves the final say to state and local officials. This is extremely important since there is no one-size-fits-all approach to dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, and states across the country have been affected in varying degrees.
The broad level of criticism towards President Trump’s comments on the scope of his authority – spanning from lawmakers and governors of both political parties to non-partisan legal analysts and other commentators – is particularly telling. While there are many issues that often times tend to draw polarizing opinions in this day and age, especially near the two ends of our political spectrum, the fact that everyone seems to agree that Trump was wrong to claim that he has “total” presidential authority demonstrates the grand misstep that he took with his remarks. It also shows us that belief in the separation of powers is one of the most vital components of our democracy, and is still very much alive and well throughout American society.
Enter the text or HTML code here
