George Will on the future of emergency powers

The two leading advocates of reforming unbounded presidential emergency powers come from very different philosophical perspectives.  On this episode of Executive Summary, Liza Goitein from the Brennan Center for Justice and Soren Dayton from the Foundation for American Innovation make the case for a mandatory sunset on any presidential emergency power declaration.  They answer big questions from Bill Antholis and Lydia Schumann: Why is reform needed? What work have reformers been doing so far? What form should these changes take? What role should Congress play in reasserting its own power? What might drive presidents to give up this august authority? Executive Summary is the Miller Center’s Presidency Project podcast. Our first season dives into the history and future of emergency powers, which is one of three focus areas for The Presidency Project.   Presidents of both parties have become more powerful, more partisan, and less popular. One sign of that: Presidents increasingly use emergency powers to go around Congress to spend money or use force. These emergency powers are also wielded in domestic politics, creating great concerns about our constitutional order.   The Miller Center is a nonpartisan institution at the University of Virginia that explores how the American presidency meets national priorities and engages scholars with leading citizens to help solve major problems.  

This week, we ask one of the great conservative political columnists of our time: What reforms can rebalance the separation of powers between the president, Congress, and the courts? Why should each political party be interested in passing legislation to curb presidential misuse of emergency powers?   In the sixth episode of Executive Summary, Bill Antholis and Lydia Schumann discuss the reform landscape of emergency powers with George Will, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post and prominent conservative commentator. They explore what led Will to write columns about emergency powers and why he thinks Democrats and Republicans ought to pass reforms to curtail these powers.  Executive Summary is the Miller Center’s Presidency Project podcast. Our first season dives into the history and future of emergency powers, which is one of three focus areas for The Presidency Project.   Presidents of both parties have become more powerful, more partisan, and less popular. One sign of that: Presidents increasingly use emergency powers to go around Congress to spend money or use force. These emergency powers are also wielded in domestic politics, creating great concerns about our constitutional order.   The Miller Center is a nonpartisan institution at the University of Virginia that explores how the American presidency meets national priorities and engages scholars with leading citizens to help solve major problems.  

President Trump has made election security a priority, and some of his supporters have encouraged him to declare an election emergency. We’ve had other national emergencies before, during federal elections. How have we managed that in the past? How might administration interference in this year’s elections affect voter trust in the system? In the fifth episode of Executive Summary, Bill Antholis and Lydia Schumann discuss election law and security with Michael Gilbert, a UVA Law professor and the director of the Karsh Center for Law and Democracy. They explore how elections are run by states and localities, and what role federal authorities can play, including what might happen if a president declares a national emergency ahead of an election. “Executive Summary” is the Miller Center’s Presidency Project podcast. Our first season dives into the history and future of emergency powers, which is one of three focus areas for The Presidency Project.   Presidents of both parties have become more powerful, more partisan, and less popular. One sign of that: Presidents increasingly use emergency powers to go around Congress to spend money or use force. These emergency powers are also wielded in domestic politics, creating great concerns about our constitutional order.  The Miller Center is a nonpartisan institution at the University of Virginia that explores how the American presidency meets national priorities and engages scholars with leading citizens to help solve major problems. 

In the 25 years since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, presidents from both parties have taken on significant powers related to national security. How did 9/11 change the tools presidents turn to for national security issues? Do they have deeper domestic consequences? In the fourth episode of Executive Summary, Bill Antholis and Lydia Schumann interview University of Massachusetts- Amherst lecturer Chris Edelson. They discuss the presidencies of Bush through Trump and explain why some presidents view emergency powers—and presidential power in general—as above the law.  They also discuss “constitutional failure” – how we know it when we see it, and what we might do about it. “Executive Summary” is the Miller Center’s Presidency Project podcast. Our first season dives into the history and future of emergency powers, which is one of three focus areas for The Presidency Project.  Presidents of both parties have become more powerful, more partisan, and less popular. One sign of that: Presidents increasingly use emergency powers to go around Congress to spend money or use force. These emergency powers are also wielded in domestic politics, creating great concerns about our constitutional order.  The Miller Center is a nonpartisan institution at the University of Virginia that explores how the American presidency meets national priorities and engages scholars with leading citizens to help solve major problems. 

The National Emergencies Act was passed in 1976, in the aftermath of Watergate, to help Congress monitor and potentially constrain a president’s ability to declare emergencies.  How has it worked in the 50 years since its passage? How have actions by the Supreme Court affected its ability to function? In the third episode of Executive Summary, Bill Antholis and Lydia Schumann interview UVA law professor and Miller Center Faculty Senior Fellow Saikrishna Prakash. They discuss the legislative veto, the balance of power between the branches, and how we might reform existing legislation to empower Congress.  “Executive Summary” is the Miller Center’s Presidency Project podcast. Our first season dives into the history and future of emergency powers, which is one of three focus areas for The Presidency Project.   Presidents of both parties have become more powerful, more partisan, and less popular. One sign of that: Presidents increasingly use emergency powers to go around Congress to spend money or use force. These emergency powers are also wielded in domestic politics, creating great concerns about our constitutional order.  The Miller Center is a nonpartisan institution at the University of Virginia that explores how the American presidency meets national priorities and engages scholars with leading citizens to help solve major problems. 

How did the president become the first mover in American politics, and what impact has weak Congressional oversight had on emergency powers? In the second episode of Executive Summary, White Burkett Miller Professor Sidney Milkis discusses with hosts Bill Antholis and Lydia Schumann the creation of a central executive office by FDR and the role the Congressional oversight played in uses of vast presidential power.    “Executive Summary” is the Miller Center’s Presidency Project podcast. Our first season dives into the history and future of emergency powers, which is one of three focus areas for The Presidency Project.  Presidents of both parties have become more powerful, more partisan, and less popular. One sign of that: Presidents increasingly use emergency powers to go around Congress to spend money or use force. These emergency powers are also wielded in domestic politics, creating great concerns about our constitutional order. The Miller Center is a nonpartisan institution at the University of Virginia that explores how the American presidency meets national priorities and engages scholars with leading citizens to help solve major problems. 

Presidents of both parties have become more powerful, more partisan, and less popular. One sign of that: Presidents increasingly use emergency powers to go around Congress to spend money or use force. And more and more, they’re used in domestic politics, creating great concerns about our constitutional order.  Where do presidential emergency powers come from, and how did the founders think about these extraordinary powers? In the first episode of Executive Summary, hosts Bill Antholis and Lydia Schumann explore the origins of emergency powers with Russell Riley, the co-chair of the Miller Center’s Presidential Oral History Program and the White Burkett Miller Center Professor of Ethics and Institutions. Riley explains how these powers evolved from the founding to Lincoln, and how the public has reacted to “constitutional dictatorships.” The episode examines the role Congress has played in historic episodes of emergency, and how American institutions and citizens react to strong presidents.  This is the first episode of season one of Executive Summary: The Miller Center’s Presidency Project Podcast. Our first season dives deep into the history and future of emergency powers, which is one of three focus areas for The Presidency Project. To learn more about the Miller Center’s work on emergency powers, or the Presidency Project, visit The Presidency Project.The Miller Center is a nonpartisan institution at the University of Virginia that explores how the American presidency meets national priorities and engages scholars with leading citizens to help solve major problems.