Trump claims he has 'total' authority over when states can reopen


President Trump on Monday declared that his "authority is total" when it comes to deciding how and when states reopen their economies.
He made this claim after the governors of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Rhode Island announced they will coordinate their plans to reopen once it's safe to do so. Each state has come up with its own approach to shutting down amid the coronavirus pandemic; California was one of the earliest states to limit large gatherings and ask people 65 and older to stay home, while Arkansas has yet to issue a stay-at-home order.
During his daily coronavirus briefing, Trump told reporters that when "somebody's president of the United States, the authority is total. And that's the way it's got to be. It's total. It's total. And the governors know that." He went on to assert that governors "can't do anything without approval from the president of the United States." CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins pushed Trump on this, telling him this wasn't true and asking several times who told him that the president has total authority over the states. Trump did not answer, and finally told her, "Enough."
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.
Several Republicans also called Trump out for his remarks, with Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wy.) quoting the 10th Amendment and tweeting, "The federal government does not have absolute power." Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley, a Republican witness during the impeachment inquiry into Trump, tweeted that the Constitution "was written precisely" to deny Trump's claim that the president's authority is total. "It also reserved to the states (and individuals) rights not expressly given to the federal government," he added.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot