WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump insists there are “numerous provisions” in the Constitution to support his view that he has “total authority” to order states to open their economies as the coronavirus pandemic roils.
He did not enumerate what they were. And the consensus among constitutional scholars is that's because they don't exist. Trump's statement on Monday was another head-snapping turn in a presidency filled with them.
In the days and weeks before, Trump had laid responsibility for the pandemic response at the feet of the nation’s governors.
Now, he says he has vast powers as president to compel states to action. In doing so, he reignited a debate as old as the nation over the division of power and authority between the federal