No, really. What is Congress even doing? Because it's not its job. | Opinion
I can only say it so many times in so many different ways: If Congress would do its job, most of the controversy surrounding Trump's actions would be obsolete. And they would have staying power.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced an executive order aimed at improving election security. It's the latest proof that Trump has no interest in waiting for Congress to take action, opting instead to implement his policies through legally dubious executive orders.
In the face of Trump’s flurry of executive orders, people might wonder what Congress is actually doing. Aside from avoiding a government shutdown, the congressional branch of our government has been quiet as things in the federal government remain testy.
Congress is intended to drive policymaking for our federal government, but that hasn't been the case for years. Our legislative branch is broken due to its laziness and the rise of executive power.
As a result, Trump's agenda is being pushed through executive orders and judicial fights rather than congressional action. This means his agenda has yet to be fortified by legislation. That's important.
Congress could help Trump get things done, but it's not
Congress could clarify the meaning of the Alien Enemies Act, but it hasn’t. Congress could help the president and Elon Musk to dissolve certain federal agencies, but it hasn’t. Congress could pass its own voter security measures, but it hasn't.
Instead, Congress is forcing the judicial system to litigate these problems on its behalf. I can only say it so many times in so many different ways: if Congress would do its job, most of the controversy surrounding Trump’s actions would be obsolete. And they would have staying power.
As much as I loathe how the Trump administration has gone about some of their actions in the early months of his second term, at a certain point, Congress has to take the blame for being completely unworkable. They have only managed to pass a budget reconciliation package (pending Senate passage) and cooperate with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown.
Congress has done nothing to aid or curtail the young Trump administration, and their laziness is needlessly causing migraines throughout the other branches as he continues to stretch the law and exceed the mandate he believes he has.
Trump doesn't have the mandate he claims. But Congress won't stop him.
Congress has previously extended authority to the president to enact tariffs on his own in times of emergency, but for Trump, any "emergency" is enough to justify tariffs, even if it means inventing a fentanyl crisis on the Canadian border.
These tariffs are unpopular, with just 28% of Americans supporting the taxes on our neighbor to the north, but Trump doesn’t care. And Congress has shown no desire to rescind tariff powers from Trump, no matter how much they harm Americans.
If Trump truly had the mandate he claims, he would have a majority in the Senate capable of overcoming a Democrat filibuster. But he doesn’t, so he should dream a little smaller and seek cooperation from the moderate Democrats in the Senate. But we know he won't.
Congress was designed to be a chokepoint for a partisan agenda. It was meant to sort the extreme from common sense and to reject the former while passing the latter. Only when the American people deliver an overwhelming Senate majority is single-party rule intended to run our federal government. That's not what voters did in November.
In fact, our country hasn’t had such a consensus since the 2008 election, in which Democrats held a 60-vote majority in the Senate, allowing for a unified Democratic caucus to pass the Obama agenda without impediment. Even then, that clear mandate was quickly rescinded through elections, and has never returned to either party.
Trump doesn't have the uniform government Obama had during his first term. So, Trump has to pass his agenda through a hodgepodge of existing statutes that aren't intended for the purposes he is claiming. The result is a legacy vulnerable to legal challenges that could undo a series of executive orders that do what Congress should have.
Trump's way of having a political agenda is pushing the legal system to its limit, then shifting blame and hurling threats when he loses in court. I wish Congress would do more than just sit and let it happen.
Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for Paste BN and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.