Democrats are embracing Trump's 1 simple trick
If one thing characterized the presidency of Donald Trump, it was a willingness to ignore the rules — no boundary was sacred, whether it took the form of a norm, a law, or a Constitutional requirement. Rules were for other people. Suckers.
Democrats have decided this is fine and dandy.
Congress is still stuck on a bill to fund a new round of COVID relief, and it can't seem to get unstuck. So some Dems are proposing that President Biden do an end run by declaring an emergency and raiding the Pentagon budget to get the money needed to buy more vaccines and tests. The Constitution clearly says that Congress, not the president, determines how to spend the public's money. So how are the idea's backers justifying their proposal? By pointing out that Trump did it first, when he repurposed defense money for his border wall.
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.
"We saw how Trump did it based on his priorities," Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) told The Atlantic's Russell Berman. "If they can do that, don't tell me they can't find another $15 billion and more for saving lives in America and around the world."
It's alarming to see members of Congress give up on their Constitutional duties and ask the president to claim more power. If the legislative branch can't even come to some kind of agreement to pay for basic medical supplies during a pandemic, what really are they capable of accomplishing? And don't they realize that by giving the imperial presidency the opportunity to become more imperial, they're eroding America's already fragile democracy?
Maybe it's understandable that Democrats embrace the "whataboutist" argument for elbowing Congress aside — if Trump did it, why shouldn't they? But Trump, or a Trump clone, might be back in the White House as soon as 2025. Why would the public believe the inevitable Democratic critiques of presidential overreach then if they embrace the exact same tools when given the opportunity? If something is unconstitutional when Republicans do it, it remains unconstitutional when Democrats do it.
Ironically, Trump used a similar argument to justify his diversion of money to the border wall. As my colleague Bonnie Kristian pointed out in 2019, "Trump's case for getting his way was simple: Democrats will abuse executive power if given the chance, so he should get to do it, too." (Biden won the White House and reversed course before the Supreme Court could definitively settle the matter.) Now Democrats are saying the same thing about Republicans. Meanwhile, the president becomes more and more powerful, the Constitution less and less meaningful. And the slope gets ever more slippery all the way down.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a freelance writer who has spent nine years as a syndicated columnist, co-writing the RedBlueAmerica column as the liberal half of a point-counterpoint duo. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic, The Kansas City Star and Heatmap News. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
'Elevating Earth Day into a national holiday is not radical — it's practical'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
UAW scores historic win in South at VW plant
Speed Read Volkswagen workers in Tennessee have voted to join the United Auto Workers union
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 22, 2024
Cartoons Monday's cartoons - dystopian laughs, WNBA salaries, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Is the Supreme Court about to criminalize homelessness?
Talking Points The court will decide if bans on outdoor camping are 'cruel and unusual'
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Myanmar: the Spring Revolution and the downfall of the generals
Talking Point An armed protest movement has swept across the country since the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi was overthrown in 2021
By The Week Staff Published
-
How could the Supreme Court's Fischer v. US case impact the other Jan 6. trials including Trump's?
Today's Big Question A former Pennsylvania cop might hold the key to a major upheaval in how the courts treat the Capitol riot — and its alleged instigator
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'A direct, protracted war with Israel is not something Iran is equipped to fight'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Trump's first criminal trial starts with jury picks
Speed Read The former president faces charges related to hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Making sense of FISA's strange bedfellows in Congress
The Explainer How a controversial intelligence gathering law is bringing progressive Democrats and privacy hawk Republicans together
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Why are Republicans trying to change Nebraska's Electoral College vote?
Today's Big Question It's a chance for Donald Trump to block Joe Biden's path to re-election
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published