Most presidents want as much power as they can get. And it's not unusual to see them claim authority that they don't, in the end, actually have. We saw it just last term, when former President Biden tried to unilaterally forgive hundreds of billions of dollars in federal student loans.Or when he announced, days before leaving office that the 28th Amendment, on gender equality, was now the law of the land. So are the opening moves of Trump's presidency just a spicier version of the standard playbook or an imminent threat to constitutional government as we know it?For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.orgEmail us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
What recent actions by Trump are causing concern?
Here is one view of what's been happening in the U.S. government over the past two weeks.
We are in the midst of a sweeping authoritarian power grab that has never been witnessed in the lifetime of anyone standing here right now.
That is Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon speaking on Tuesday. He ticked off the actions President Trump has taken so far during the start of his term. The inspector general's being fired. Trump fired the watchdogs who monitor federal agencies en masse on a Friday night, ignoring a law that requires him to give Congress 30 days notice and a reason.
Memos going out telling government workers to spy on government workers to see if anyone is overly sympathetic to the idea of diversity.
That directive asked employees to report any colleagues trying to get around President Trump's order aimed at ending federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs. And then Merkley brought up the memo that ordered a broad pause on federal loans and grants.
We have Trump saying, I'm going to steal the power of the purse allocated into the Constitution to Congress, and I'm going to take it for myself.
The memo was rescinded on Wednesday, though the White House says it still intends to cut federal funding. It's now tied up in court. Merkley described all of this in stark terms. That is a constitutional crisis. The Constitution, of course, has checks and balances built in. But the legislative branch is controlled by Republicans. Both the House and the Senate are under GOP control.
And Republican lawmakers look at Trump's moves differently. North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer told local radio station KFGO that he's a stickler for the separation of powers. But he told reporters Tuesday that Trump was just testing his own authority.
You know, he's getting some guidance that presidents have more authority than they've traditionally used. Some presidents have used a lot of it. Some have used less.
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