By Sama Marwan,
The Washington Post reported that the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress have ceded certain powers to former President Donald Trump and to the presidency in general.
The newspaper pointed out that a Supreme Court decision last week severely limited the ability of federal judges to block nationwide presidential actions, even if those actions are found unconstitutional. This followed last year’s ruling that granted the president broad immunity from prosecution for crimes committed as part of core presidential duties.
A few days ago, the Senate rejected a resolution that would have allowed Congress to decide, under its constitutional authority, whether Trump could launch strikes against Iran. In recent months, Congress has repeatedly refused to assert its constitutional powers over spending and tariffs.
Analysts say the judicial and legislative branches have consistently transferred many of their powers to the executive branch during Trump’s presidency—or at the very least, have acquiesced to such transfers. The newspaper noted that this has caused tremors in a system built upon a sharp separation of powers, in which each branch traditionally guards its authority jealously.
The Washington Post quoted Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen as saying that the framers of the Constitution designed the system of checks and balances because they did not want a government in which Congress and the Supreme Court handed the president a blank check. “That’s not what they wanted,” he said. “The goal was to create friction between the three branches in order to achieve balance.”
However, some scholars say the United States has become so deeply polarized that leaders in all three branches of government are now more loyal to their own power than to the institutions they serve.
Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, stated that he believes the framers envisioned a system where two branches would be required to undertake any significant action—such as waging war, passing laws, or enforcing them. “We’ve strayed from that,” he said. “The executive branch can accomplish a great deal without the other two branches.”
