TheDraftRobot

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On Monday, President Trump delivered an astonishing press conference, in which he claimed the sort of powers ordinarily associated with an absolute monarch. When asked what he would do about states that do not agree to lift coronavirus-related restrictions and reopen their economies on the same schedule preferred by the White House, Trump falsely claimed that “the president of the United States calls the shots.” He then added another false statement, that states “can’t do anything without the approval of the president.” When pressed, Trump went even further. “When somebody is the president of the United States,” Trump incorrectly claimed, “the authority is total.” Trump has reportedly floated May 1 as a target date for reopening US businesses. It’s a bit surprising that this needs to be said, but no, the president of the United States’ authority is not “total.” The federal government’s powers are restricted to a broad-but-limited list of enumerated powers, and the 10th Amendment reserves any power not mentioned on that list “to the states” or “to the people.” A doctrine known as “anti-commandeering” prohibits the federal government from ordering state and local governments to take specific actions, or to spend their resources in particular ways. Because the state and local governments own and operate public schools, the federal government cannot lawfully order those schools reopened. Schools will reopen when governors, mayors, or other relevant state and local officials decide to open them. Meanwhile, as many Americans of a certain age learned from Schoolhouse Rock, the Constitution separates power between the president and Congress. Congress has the power to “regulate commerce ... among the several states,” a power that is broad enough that the federal legislature could probably enact a law preempting state and local orders closing private businesses.

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