Angus King

But even that power is circumscribed by the Constitution giving the power to declare war to the Congress. And if you go back to the debates at the convention in 1787, August 23rd, they debated the war power. And some people said, well, a committee like Congress can't run a war. And others said, yeah, but look what these princes in Europe do, dragging their countries into war for foolish reasons.

And the compromise was to split it. Congress has the power to declare war. The president is the commander in chief. After that, here's what it says about the president's job. I'm going to give you an exact quote. The president's responsibility is to, quote, take care that the laws be faithfully executed. That's the exact language. Take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

And the compromise was to split it. Congress has the power to declare war. The president is the commander in chief. After that, here's what it says about the president's job. I'm going to give you an exact quote. The president's responsibility is to, quote, take care that the laws be faithfully executed. That's the exact language. Take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

And the compromise was to split it. Congress has the power to declare war. The president is the commander in chief. After that, here's what it says about the president's job. I'm going to give you an exact quote. The president's responsibility is to, quote, take care that the laws be faithfully executed. That's the exact language. Take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

It doesn't give him the power to decide which laws he likes or to make his own law. A perfect example is the tariffs.

It doesn't give him the power to decide which laws he likes or to make his own law. A perfect example is the tariffs.

It doesn't give him the power to decide which laws he likes or to make his own law. A perfect example is the tariffs.

The Constitution in Article I, Section 8 expressly delegates to Congress the power to regulate trade among nations. That's the term, regulate trade among nations. So they delegated that to the president years ago with a caveat that it could only be used unilaterally by the president in an emergency.

The Constitution in Article I, Section 8 expressly delegates to Congress the power to regulate trade among nations. That's the term, regulate trade among nations. So they delegated that to the president years ago with a caveat that it could only be used unilaterally by the president in an emergency.

The Constitution in Article I, Section 8 expressly delegates to Congress the power to regulate trade among nations. That's the term, regulate trade among nations. So they delegated that to the president years ago with a caveat that it could only be used unilaterally by the president in an emergency.

And the thinking was, you know, in a time of war when there was really some crisis that you had to resolve, I hate to tell you, man, there's no emergency with Canada. There's no emergency with Denmark or South Korea or Japan or our allies. Now, maybe you can argue that we have a serious situation. maybe an emergency with China, given the difficulties of that piece of trade.

And the thinking was, you know, in a time of war when there was really some crisis that you had to resolve, I hate to tell you, man, there's no emergency with Canada. There's no emergency with Denmark or South Korea or Japan or our allies. Now, maybe you can argue that we have a serious situation. maybe an emergency with China, given the difficulties of that piece of trade.

And the thinking was, you know, in a time of war when there was really some crisis that you had to resolve, I hate to tell you, man, there's no emergency with Canada. There's no emergency with Denmark or South Korea or Japan or our allies. Now, maybe you can argue that we have a serious situation. maybe an emergency with China, given the difficulties of that piece of trade.

But to use this for this worldwide tariff regime, which really threatens our economy and the world economy, again, it's exactly what the framers didn't want.

But to use this for this worldwide tariff regime, which really threatens our economy and the world economy, again, it's exactly what the framers didn't want.

But to use this for this worldwide tariff regime, which really threatens our economy and the world economy, again, it's exactly what the framers didn't want.

It's sort of like a nice little state you have there. It would be a shame if something happened to it. And the issue is not trans athletes. That's a legitimate issue for debate. My question is, should that be decided on the local level or the federal level? Does that really rise to the level of being a federal law?

It's sort of like a nice little state you have there. It would be a shame if something happened to it. And the issue is not trans athletes. That's a legitimate issue for debate. My question is, should that be decided on the local level or the federal level? Does that really rise to the level of being a federal law?

It's sort of like a nice little state you have there. It would be a shame if something happened to it. And the issue is not trans athletes. That's a legitimate issue for debate. My question is, should that be decided on the local level or the federal level? Does that really rise to the level of being a federal law?

Or is this something states and school boards and sports bigs should decide on their own? By the way, there was a very telling moment in that exchange, a very crucial telling moment where at one point he said, we are the law. Well, we are the federal law. He started to say, I am the law.