The Pros And Cons Of Presidential Power

Presidential power has become a hot topic in the media the in recent years. There has been extensive debate about what a president should be able to do, especially without the involvement of Congress and the American people. While this debate has become more publicized since the Bush administration, similar issues of presidential power date back to Truman and the Korean War. As with much of the structure of the U.S. government, the powers of the president are constantly evolving with the times and the executives. One of the biggest examples used in the article for expansion of presidential power is George W. Bush. After 9/11 occurred, the overwhelming emergency brought Bush to do what ever he could to secure the country and make the American

As seen quite often in the Obama administration, legislation gets stuck and lost in Congress due to the polarization of the parties in recent years. In Obama’s case, he has frequently threatened to go around the House and Senate if they could not reach an agreement or would shoot down his plans. Cato’s Pilon points out, however, that the hurdles of Congress are no mistake. Pilot states that the framer’s of the Constitution knew what they were doing, and this was intended to keep the checks and balances as well as accountability to the public (Lyons,

With his executive orders, Obama has put in restrictions and requirements of agencies that have been seen as excessive, says Nestle from New York University. These regulations include lowering emissions, preventing domestic violence, trying to create jobs for veterans, etc (Lyons, 223). Dan Epstein from Cause of Action says these orders have only served to create politicization of these federal agencies which are meant to be independent, especially of the executive branch. This has given the Obama administration more authority over the agencies and in turn, left the public’s say out of it (Lyons,