{"id":2073748,"date":"2023-10-20T05:33:01","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T09:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-builds-on-predecessors-efforts-in-grabbing-power-for-the-executive-branch\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T05:37:29","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T09:37:29","slug":"biden-builds-on-predecessors-efforts-in-grabbing-power-for-the-executive-branch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-builds-on-predecessors-efforts-in-grabbing-power-for-the-executive-branch\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden expands executive branch&#8217;s power, following predecessors&#8217; lead."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-builds-on-predecessors-efforts-in-grabbing-power-for-the-executive-branch%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2073748&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Gene Healy: \u2063The Cult of the Presidency\u200b and the Growing Power \u200dof the Executive<\/h2>\n<p>Gene \u2064Healy, a Cato Institute vice\u2062 president and former columnist for the Washington Examiner, is the author of the thought-provoking\u200b book, <i>The Cult of the\u2064 Presidency: America&#8217;s Dangerous Devotion to Executive \u2062Power<\/i>. Published in 2008, the \u200dbook ignited a longstanding debate about the expanding powers and increasing public expectations of the \u2063presidency. This debate has\u200d only intensified since its release during the final months of George W. Bush&#8217;s administration.\u2062 Subsequent presidents, including Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and now Joe \u2063Biden, \u200bhave further consolidated executive power in their own unique ways.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;The Founding Fathers intended a more modest role for the president: to defend the country \u2062when attacked, to enforce the \u2063law, to uphold the Constitution \u2014 and that was about it,&#8221; wrote the Economist\u2019s Lexington columnist upon\u200b the book&#8217;s publication. &#8220;But over\u200d time, the office has grown.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3>District of Crime: The \u200dDecline of Washington&#8217;s\u200d Police Force<\/h3>\n<p>In a captivating email conversation with the Washington Examiner in mid-October, \u200cHealy delved\u200d into the historical growth of \u2063the presidency and its current state under Biden and Trump. The following is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-are-failing-unless-they-are-disrupting-discrediting-and-destroying-the-bureaucracy\/\" title=\"Republicans Are Failing Unless They Are Disrupting, Discrediting, And Destroying The Bureaucracy\">lightly edited transcript<\/a> of that conversation.<\/p>\n<h3>Washington Examiner: What is the cult of the \u200cpresidency, and why did you write a book about it?<\/h3>\n<p>Healy: The cult of the presidency \u200brefers to\u2064 the\u200c widespread American tendency to imbue \u200cthe limited, constitutional office with messianic and \u200dquasi-mystical aspirations. Originally, the president&#8217;s duty was\u200b to faithfully execute the laws, \u2064a challenging task in itself. However, in modern \u2063times, the president has been burdened with immense responsibilities, from the state of the nation&#8217;s soul to the price of gas and even freedom worldwide. Our political \u2064culture has bestowed preposterously vast powers upon the office, granting a fallible human being authority that no one should possess.<\/p>\n<h3>Washington Examiner: Has the situation improved \u200cor worsened \u200csince you wrote the \u2064book?<\/h3>\n<p>Healy: Unfortunately, it seems my arguments were not persuasive \u2063enough. In the years following the book&#8217;s publication, the &#8220;most powerful office in the world&#8221; has only grown in power. George W. Bush implemented secret surveillance programs and unilaterally ordered a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-builds-on-predecessors-efforts-in-grabbing-power-for-the-executive-branch\/\" title=\"Biden expands executive branch's power, following predecessors' lead.\">multibillion-dollar auto bailout<\/a> despite Congress rejecting the move. Obama, despite \u2064promising \u2064to curtail \u2063the imperial presidency, engaged in undeclared wars and exceeded the limits imposed \u2064by the War\u2064 Powers Resolution. Donald \u200cTrump added\u200b new weapons to the presidential arsenal, such as using national emergency declarations to bypass Congress and \u200dordering drone\u2064 strikes on government figures of non-warring nations.<\/p>\n<h3>Washington Examiner: But didn&#8217;t Trump&#8217;s actions diminish the presidency&#8217;s stature?<\/h3>\n<p>Healy: \u200cWhile it can \u200dbe argued that Trump punctured the romanticized\u200b image \u2063of\u200d the presidency and made it difficult to view presidents as moral leaders, he did not\u2064 reduce the power or danger associated with the office. Despite \u200bfour years of liberal outcry about the rise of fascism, there was no\u2064 sustained effort to limit the presidency&#8217;s powers and safeguard against tyranny. \u2062This missed opportunity will undoubtedly be regretted.<\/p>\n<h3>Washington \u200cExaminer: You recently stated that &#8220;Biden\u2064 has repeatedly engaged the full powers of the presidency in an attempt to impose a forced settlement\u200c on issues where the American people are deeply\u200c divided.&#8221; Is this an example of\u200c the cult \u200bin action?<\/h3>\n<p>Healy: Absolutely. The \u200cmodern president has become our &#8220;culture warrior in \u200bchief,&#8221; exacerbating divisions by \u200dturning every \u200csocial issue into\u200b a federal matter. Take the debate over &#8220;trans rights&#8221; as an example. We\u200c do not need national\u200c rules on bathroom access determined by \u2064whichever political party\u200d holds the presidency. Yet Biden&#8217;s\u2062 latest Title IX edict grants him authority over \u2062the girls&#8217; \u2062room. He seeks to settle the debate on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sotu-joe-biden-touts-child-transgender-treatments\/\" title=\"SOTU: Joe Biden Touts Child Transgender Treatments\">sex-change treatment<\/a> for minors \u200cwith a stroke of his pen and \u200chas appointed a federal czar to enforce Gender Queer in school libraries, even against the wishes of \u200blocal districts. When presidential policy extends to everything from school library shelves to \u2063locker room usage,\u2064 it becomes\u2064 increasingly difficult for people to accept electoral losses gracefully. This fosters a dangerous sentiment that \u2062every election is a life-or-death situation, which\u2063 is not what we should encourage. Instead,\u2064 we should strive \u2063to reduce the \u200dstakes of presidential elections by limiting\u200d the potential damage any one president\u200d can inflict.<\/p>\n<h3>Washington Examiner: What powers \u2064did the king of\u2063 England possess during the Revolutionary War that the modern president does\u2062 not?<\/h3>\n<p>Healy: Very few. \u2064In Federalist \u200c69, Hamilton outlined the kingly powers that\u200c the president was not\u200d meant to have. For instance, the king could create offices and \u2062agencies and act as\u200d the &#8220;arbiter of commerce&#8221; within the realm. The president does not possess such powers. The king could initiate wars, but the president cannot. While the president is the &#8220;commander in\u200d chief,&#8221; as Hamilton explained, this merely means they are the highest-ranking\u2062 military \u200dofficer and do not have the authority to unilaterally decide when and if the country goes to war. The king \u200balso held authority over the national church, which the president lacks.<\/p>\n<p>Fast forward to the late 20th century, and presidents had unilaterally created over half \u2062of all administrative agencies in the United States, enjoyed the power\u2063 to wage wars at will, and, like Joe Biden,\u200c considered\u200c themselves responsible for the\u2062 nation&#8217;s soul.<\/p>\n<h3>Washington Examiner: \u200dDid \u200dthe\u2063 Constitution&#8217;s framers make a mistake by combining\u200c the head of government and head of state \u200binto one office?<\/h3>\n<p>Healy: \u2063It is possible. Legal scholar F.H. Buckley presents a\u2063 compelling case for this view in his book, <i>The Once and Future King<\/i>. \u2063In parliamentary systems where these roles are separate, the head of government is not revered as the living symbol of \u200cthe nation. They face scrutiny and questioning during\u2063 &#8220;Question Time.&#8221; This distinction may explain why there is no \u2063comparable &#8220;Cult of the Prime \u2062Minister&#8221;\u200c across the pond. Perhaps we should set aside our\u2064 republican pride and\u2063 assign the head-of-state role \u200bto figures like the Kardashians.<\/p>\n<h3>Washington Examiner:\u2062 Is\u200b impeachment part of \u200bthe solution?<\/h3>\n<p>Healy: \u200bPrior to the\u200c Trump presidency, I believed that we did not impeach presidents enough. Given the numerous corrupt and inept leaders we have endured throughout constitutional history, it was disheartening that\u2062 we had only made three\u200c serious\u2063 attempts at removal. Even when the Senate failed \u2064to convict, as \u2062in the cases\u200c of Johnson and Clinton,\u200c impeachment served as a disciplinary measure, leaving a \u2064stain on their legacies.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Trump experience has dampened\u200c my \u2064enthusiasm \u200cfor impeachment&#8217;s effectiveness. Congress twice\u200c deployed this tool within two years, yet it proved futile. If a president can be impeached twice and still secure \u2063their party&#8217;s nomination,\u2062 as Trump is poised to do, it is \u2063evident that mass \u2064partisanship\u2063 has rendered impeachment ineffective. If we truly want\u200b to curb presidential abuse of power, we should focus on reducing the powers that are susceptible to abuse, rather than\u200d solely \u2063targeting the individual\u2064 holding the office.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\">Click here<\/a> to read more from the Washington Examiner.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How can \u200bthe public \u200dand lawmakers collectively reverse \u2063the trend of expanding executive powers?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Wars without congressional approval, and exerted significant influence\u200b over the economy through\u2062 regulatory measures and executive orders. In\u200d comparison, the king&#8217;s powers during the Revolutionary War seem trivial.<\/p>\n<h3>Washington Examiner: How can we\u2063 reverse the \u2063trend of \u200dthe expanding executive power?<\/h3>\n<p>Healy: \u200bReversing the \u200btrend\u200b will require a collective effort from both the public and lawmakers. First and\u2063 foremost, we need to recognize the dangers \u2063of\u200b an all-powerful presidency and reject the notion\u2062 that\u200b one person\u2064 can solve all our problems. The president should be seen as a limited, constitutional officer, not \u200ca savior or a superman. \u2063Additionally, Congress should reassert its authority and\u2062 hold the executive branch accountable\u200d for \u2062any unconstitutional overreach. This means reclaiming the power of the purse\u200d and enacting stricter oversight measures.<\/p>\n<p>The public also has a crucial role to play. We need to demand a\u200d return to constitutional principles and reject the cult-like worship of the presidency. Instead of looking to the\u200d executive to solve every issue, we should focus on\u2063 local and \u2063state-level \u2063solutions and encourage robust dialogue and debate.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, courts need to \u200dstep up and fulfill their role as \u200bguardians \u2062of\u200b the Constitution. They should be vigilant in protecting individual rights and ensure that the executive \u2064branch does not exceed its constitutional limits.<\/p>\n<h3>Washington\u2062 Examiner:\u2063 In \u200dyour book, you argue that the\u200d cult\u200b of the presidency is a\u2064 threat to liberty and good governance. Can you elaborate on \u2064this?<\/h3>\n<p>Healy: Absolutely. When \u2063power becomes\u200d concentrated in the hands of one\u2064 person, it is inevitably abused. The expansion of executive power allows for the\u200c erosion of civil liberties and the infringement upon individual \u2064rights. \u2063It also undermines the system of \u2063checks and\u200c balances that is crucial for good \u200bgovernance. When the presidency becomes an all-powerful institution, \u2062Congress becomes \u2062weak and ineffective, and the courts are limited in their ability to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-southern-baptist-convention-must-respond-to-reports-of-abuse-with-full-transparency\/\" title=\"The Southern Baptist Convention Must Respond To Reports Of Abuse With Full Transparency\">provide meaningful oversight<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, \u2062the cult of the\u200c presidency breeds\u200d a dangerous level of public \u200cexpectation and adoration. This places immense pressure on the president to deliver on unrealistic promises, often leading to the disregard for constitutional limits and the pursuit\u200c of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/inside-rand-pauls-plan-to-balance-the-federal-budget-in-5-years\/\" title=\"Inside Rand Paul\u2019s Plan To Balance The Federal Budget In 5 Years\">short-term political gains<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, it is imperative that we recognize the dangers of \u200ban\u2063 unchecked\u200b executive branch and work towards reining in its powers. The cult of the presidency must be\u200c dismantled, and \u2062a return to constitutional principles\u200b is needed to protect our liberties \u200dand ensure good\u2062 governance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gene Healy, Cato Institute VP and former Washington Examiner columnist, authored The Cult of the Presidency: America&#8217;s Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power. His 2008 book reignited the ongoing discussion on the expanding powers and rising public demands placed on the presidency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2073749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2073748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2073748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2073748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2073748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2073749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2073748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2073748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2073748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}