Isn’t tax policy Congressional business?
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He doesn’t. His party is terrified of his base and wouldn’t stand up to him no matter what he does.
Trump has claimed the authority to impose tariffs under various laws passed by Congress, usually many years ago. See The Legal Authority Behind Trump’s New Tariffs on Mexico (from the Lawfare blog back in June) and Where Trump’s ‘emergency power’ on foreign business comes from (originally from CNN from this May, updated last month). Specific laws include the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (which was passed during the Carter Administration), along with previous trade laws passed in 1962 and 1974.
It is. Congress has enacted laws which give the President the discretionary power to impose tariffs.
Congress appears to have decided that the cooperation needed to legislate is simply too difficult so they have delegated their responsibility to the president and courts.
This gives them more time to raise funds for their next election.
From Wikipedia:
What is the national emergency? What is the adverse affect on national security from imports?
He says Article 2 authorizes him to do anything he wants.
That’s not an actual quote, is it?
I’d say it’s an accurate paraphrase.
Sad but true.
I think there is a good bit of truth to this. That said, these laws date back to over forty years ago, and in some cases to nearly sixty years ago. Congress has been seriously dysfunctional for quite a while now, but it hasn’t been totally and uniformly dysfunctional since 1977, let alone since 1962. The United States Congress has managed to do all sorts of legislating since the Kennedy Administration (even while also delegating power to the executive branch).
When (or if) we get out of this whole mess, I hope our elected leaders (at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue) take a good long hard look at various ways we’ve been doing business for at least a couple of generations. I hope.
Not much of a debate, more of a question that has been answered.
Closed.
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