Unitary Executives, Imperial Presidents, National Emergencies and Partisan Realignment

When it comes to executive overreach, Trump is standing on the shoulders of giants.

In light of President Trump’s dubious declaration of a “National Emergency” to tap more of the Treasury than Congress will authorize, it’s worth noting how far we have drifted from the Framer’s intent for presidential power, congressional power of the purse, and the separation of powers in general.

As Gene Healy of the Cato Institute and author of The Cult of Presidency noted:

“[The President’s] constitutional vision is, in short, sharply at odds with the text, history, and structure of our Constitution, which authorizes a government of limited powers.”

Oh wait. My bad. That quote was from Cato’s 2006 White Paper “Power Surge: The Constitutional Record of George W. Bush.” It was an essay I referenced when, as a blogging toddler in 2006, I was alarmed at the ever expanding Unitary Executive claims made by the Bush/Cheney administration.

Later, in 2008, I was gratified to see candidate Barack Obama run on a promise of reversing the executive overreach in the GWB administration and returning the United States to core constitutional principles:

“I taught constitutional law for ten years. I take the constitution very seriously. The biggest problem that we’re facing right now has to do with George Bush…