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Comment by outer_web | Hacker News Reader

Lot of whiplash with these tariff policies. I'm wondering if maybe it'd be a better idea to give* Congress this power instead.

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Congress does have the power (article I, section 8), however it delegated this power to the president for "extraordinary" situations with certain laws.

> The nondelegation doctrine is rooted in certain separation of powers principles.1 In limiting Congress’s power to delegate, the *nondelegation doctrine exists primarily to prevent Congress from ceding its legislative power to other entities* not vested with legislative authority under the Constitution. As interpreted by the Court, the doctrine seeks to ensure that legislative decisions are made through a bicameral legislative process by the elected Members of Congress or governmental officials subject to constitutional accountability.2 Reserving the legislative power for a bicameral Congress was "intended to erect enduring checks on each Branch and to protect the people from the improvident exercise of power by mandating certain prescribed steps."

https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S1-5-1/A...

Any democrats with working brain stems and genitals should be taking this to supreme court.

Agreed however this court has shown it can dance between originalism, textualism, and tossing both of those to the wind (Trump v Anderson) when it aligns with policy goals.

Also it probably wouldn't even fly with anyone since so many other emergency powers are generally accepted as necessary (i.e. defense). The immunity decision is full of rhetoric about the legislature being too slow for crises.

Their best bet is to invent a time machine, go back to Obama, have Obama pass emergency tariffs, then lobby to repeal that act.

The list of law firms with the expertise, resources, and will to take on the administration is getting shorter and shorter, because he's targeting the ones that piss him off with EOs aimed to wreck them if they don't pay up and shut up, and that strategy is working.

"Extraordinary", such as a fictional fentanyl emergency at the northern border (despite the fact that a trivial amount of fentanyl enters the U.S. from Canada, and more enters Canada from the U.S.).

Of course, you have Congress to keep the President in check that these are real emergencies. Which is why the House will definitely be bringing S.J.Res. 37 to the floor, right? Because it's their sworn duty to act as a check on executive power, right?

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/119-2025/s160

There's a reason the saying, "in America we have three coequal branches of government: the Supreme Court rules, the President crimes, and Congress is just for fun" has become popular since some time after his first inauguration.

The only search results for this allegedly popular saying were your comment and a comment elsewhere which quoted you.

My greatgrandfather used to say it all the time

He first announced tariffs on China over fentanyl something like 2 or 3 days after pardoning the biggest heroin by mail operator in world history (Ross Ulbricht).

They need to take it back, regardless. It's proven that Americans can't be expected to elect adults to the Presidency any longer, they no longer use logic or emergency situations, they use it for egotistical narcissistic feelings of being important by playing red light, green light on a trade war between the two most dangerous countries in the world

I wrote my congressperson (house and both senators) to take back the power. If enough others do the same they will, but if it is just talk on forums they assume nobody cares.

I wrote my Senator, Dick Durbin, prior to the November 2024 election, begging him to do something to shore up the legislature, prior to Trump's possible return to office.

He responded that he's not allowed to discuss campaigning and that I can instead donate to his 'friends' network (PAC?)

I don't think the Dem establishment really opposes Trump at all...

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