Trump continues to claim broad powers he doesn’t have
JILL COLVIN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Threatening to shut down Twitter for flagging false content. Claiming he can "override" governors who dare to keep churches closed to congregants. Asserting the "absolute authority" to force states to reopen, even when local leaders say it's too soon.
As he battles the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump has been claiming extraordinarily sweeping powers that legal scholars say the president simply doesn't have. And he has repeatedly refused to spell out the legal basis for those powers.
"It's not that the president doesn't have a remarkable amount of power to respond to a public health crisis. It's that these are not the powers he has," said Stephen Vladeck, a University of Texas School of Law professor who specializes in const