Washington, D.C.
The nation’s largest lawyers group said last week that President Bush’s bill-signing statements—in which he records objections to parts of measures as he signs them into law—are “contrary to the rule of law and our constitutional system.” A bipartisan panel of the American Bar Association said Bush’s practice upsets the balance of power, since he is in effect declaring his intention not to enforce laws duly passed by Congress. Bush has appended such statements onto more than 100 laws, including the ban on torture—far more than his predecessors. White House spokesman Tony Snow said Bush is merely setting “markers for issues that may later rise to be points of controversy.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Anne Hillerman's 6 favorite books with Native charactersFeature The author recommends works by Ramona Emerson, Craig Johnson, and more
-
How Zohran Mamdani's NYC mayoral run will change the Democratic PartyTalking Points The candidate poses a challenge to the party's 'dinosaur wing'
-
Book reviews: '1861: The Lost Peace' and 'Murderland: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers'Feature How America tried to avoid the Civil War and the link between lead pollution and serial killers
