The Republican-led Congress isn’t just watching the Trump administration gobble up its constitutional powers. It is enthusiastically turning them over to the White House.
G.O.P. lawmakers are doing so this week by embracing a stopgap spending bill that gives the administration wide discretion over how federal dollars are distributed, in effect handing off the legislative branch’s spending authority to President Trump. But that is just one example of how Congress, under unified Republican control, is proactively relinquishing some of its fundamental and critical authority on oversight, economic issues and more.
As they cleared the way for passing the spending measure on Tuesday, House Republicans leaders also quietly surrendered their chamber’s ability to undo Mr. Trump’s tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China in an effort to shield their members from having to take a politically tough vote. That switched off the only legislative recourse that Congress has to challenge the tariffs that are all but certain to have a major impact on their constituents.
Republicans have also stood by, many of them cheering, as the administration has upended federal departments and programs funded by Congress and fired thousands of workers with no notice to or consultation with the lawmakers charged with overseeing federal agencies. So far, no congressional committee has held an oversight hearing to scrutinize the moves or demand answers that would typically be expected when an administration undertakes such major changes.
“This is us, in a sense, giving the keys to the president to be able to continue to do the great work that they’re doing,” Representative Michael Cloud, Republican of Texas, said this week. Mr. Cloud, who rarely votes in favor of spending bills, was explaining his support for the stopgap funding measure the House passed this week and is pending in the Senate.
“This is us, in a sense, giving the keys to the president,” said Representative Michael Cloud, Republican of Texas.Credit…Eric Lee/The New York Times
