With the election of President Trump many Americans are worried about the effects that his election will have on our country. One of the most important parts of our government is the way our three branches keep eachother balanced so that one cannot gain too much power over the others. This system should keep Trump from making any radical changes that exceed the power of the legislative branch. With the senate and house of representatives having a republican majority and the supreme court leaning right, questions are rising about how much power Trump will have.
“According to the Constitutions drafters, the best way to make government subject to law is separating the powers of government among its various branches. (James) Madison and others assumed that there should be three branches of government, with each branch corresponding to a function of government. The three functions of government are to make laws, to administer laws, and to adjudicate disputes arising under the law; thus, we have the legislative, executive, and judicial branches.” said Ramona Grey a Political Science Professor at the University of Montana.
“A corollary doctrine of separation of powers is that of checks and balances– whereby the several branches of government can work together and, therefore, ensure the law’s effectiveness without jeopardizing liberty. James Madison and other constitutional framers believed that individuals in the three branches, especially the legislative and executive branch, would consist of ambitious people who would check each other’s power. Ambition would check ambition and force people to compromise or work with each other.” Grey said.
Many people are worried that Trump will be able to take advantage or evade this crucial government system. When asked if she was concerned about this, Grey said “Yes (I am concerned) but we will have to see what happens in the midterm elections in two years.”
“These three functions of power should be kept separate among the three branches because, if all or more than one function is concentrated in the same branch of government. Then that branch becomes supreme, meaning that it is above the law, and thus, liberty will suffer. In such an event (that I fear might be happening today), the constitution will not be sovereign, but the man or officials who hold that public office will be. As a result it will be their law, their constitution, rather than being subject to the law.” Grey said, “In essence no check on the executives authority– and separation of powers/checks and balances vanishes. After all, both the congress and the supreme court depend on and trust the executive branch to enact their laws and enforce their rulings.”
Currently the ways that Trump is using his power can be overly concerning to the average working-class American citizen. With his mass budget cuts and firings as well as threats to cut the department of education. “We expect presidents to have ample power to do their job. That said, President Trump is using power in a way that is alarming. His use of executive orders to dismantle government agencies created and funded by congress is– to use a word heard many times a day, unprecedented. It remains to be seen if Congress or the Court will use their power to check his power.” Grey said.
