Several lawmakers in the House of Representatives introduced legislation Tuesday offering a direct rebuke of President Donald Trump’s claim his “authority is total” during a Coronavirus Task Force press briefing hours earlier.
New Jersey congressman Tom Malinowski joined Minnesota Democrat Dean Phillips and Michigan Independent Justin Amash in filing the House Resolution that affirms the chamber’s members are in agreement “the president remains limited by the Constitution and laws of the United States.” The House resolution responds to Trump’s remarks Monday declaring he has “total” authority over state governors to reopen the economy when he decides to pull back on weeks of federal government social distancing guidelines. The president did not offer any details about how he plans to assert his power given the states’ rights restrictions present in the 10th Amendment of the Constitution.
And in a challenge to the president’s most ardent Republican Party supporters in Congress, the House members on Tuesday introduced a single-sentence resolution reaffirming that Trump, or any future U.S. president, does not have total authority over the states. Malinowski remarked in a tweet: “I’m curious if anyone will object” to a resolution which simply affirms what’s written in the Constitution. Continue reading.