A few lawmakers in the House of Representatives are pushing to make it official that President Donald Trump does not have as much control of the country as he would like to think.
Reps. Justin Amash (I-Mich.), Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), and Tom Malinowski, (D-N.J.) penned a one-sentence resolution to refute Trump’s claim his authority is “total” as president.
Malinowski wrote in a tweet about introducing the resolution.
“I introduced this one-sentence House resolution this morning, with [Dean Phillips] and [Justin Amash],” Malinowski tweeted. “We can only pass things with unanimous consent these days, so I’m curious if anyone will object.”
I introduced this one-sentence House resolution this morning, with @RepDeanPhillips and @justinamash.
— Tom Malinowski (@Malinowski) April 14, 2020
We can only pass things with unanimous consent these days, so I'm curious if anyone will object. pic.twitter.com/2MQKSAgIaQ
The one-sentence resolution reads, “Resolved, That the House of Representatives affirms that when someone is the president of the United States, their authority is not total.”
The resolution comes shortly after Trump clashed with reporters over his assertion he has full power to lift coronavirus restrictions as opposed to the states having the authority, as IJR previously reported.
Trump received backlash, including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) and former Vice President Joe Biden (D). Fox News personality Judge Andrew Napolitano also rejected Trump’s claim.
Trump later slammed Cuomo for “wanting independence,” as IJR previously reported.
“Cuomo’s been calling daily, even hourly, begging for everything, most of which should have been the state’s responsibility, such as new hospitals, beds, ventilators, etc,” Trump tweeted on Tuesday. “I got it all done for him, and everyone else, and now he seems to want Independence! That won’t happen!”
Trump reported on Tuesday that a plan to reopen the economy is close to completion. Different parts of the country may even reopen before May 1. He explained he will give the go-ahead to governors to implement plans when the time is right.
According to some legal experts, Trump has limited power to order governors to reopen portions of their state economies such as government buildings and small businesses.
The 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution allocates power to police citizens and regulate public welfare to the states.
