Trump’s Absolute-Power Claim Runs Headlong Into Constitution
- 10th Amendment, courts limit federal authority over states
- President previously put governors on front line in response
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President Donald Trump says he has absolute power to end the U.S. coronavirus shutdown. The Constitution says otherwise.
Trump’s assertion Monday runs headlong into the Constitution’s limits on federal power and the explicit preservation of state authority through the 10th Amendment, a provision long championed by his Republican Party. Supreme Court decisions have said that, while the federal government has broad power, health and safety rules are primarily the domain of the states.