With much of the country wringing its hands over Donald Trump, allow me to be the bearer of some good news: Several good things are happening to the American system of government as a result of his presidency. Admittedly, I am turning to the somewhat perverse law of unintended consequences to find these, but systems are retooling to protect themselves from President Trump and the result could be very healthy, both now and in the long run.
First, Congress is reawakening to its leadership role in policy-making and legislating. The founders understood Congress to be the “first” of the three branches, worrying whether there would be sufficient “energy” in the executive while acknowledging that the judiciary, as Alexander Hamilton put it, would be “the least dangerous branch.” All of that has been turned on its head, with the modern presidency since Franklin Roosevelt vying with the courts for first place, while Congress keeps giving up its powers and is now a distant third in federal importance.
War powers are also bestirring our Congress. Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) has long been a lone voice questioning the extensive war powers delegated to the president following 9/11. Now, perhaps more nervous with President Trump as commander in chief, the House Appropriations Committee surprisingly put forward a defense spending bill that removed the extensive war powers. Then-House Speaker Paul Ryan had a surprise of his own, deleting the war powers limitation, but acknowledging that there was some way to have this debate. In addition, another amendment was added requiring that the president provide a report to Congress on his strategy vis-à-vis ISIS. So at least Congress is moving, again in a bipartisan fashion, to restore its constitutional power over war.
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