The use and abuse of Presidential "Emergency Powers"

I do not believe that the National Emergencies Act of 1976 was intended as a way for the President to bypass the will of Congress. But that is what President Trump has done to build a wall on the US-Mexico border (NYTimes). This is an egregious attempt at an end-run around the Constitution.

This article in The Atlantic goes into detail about presidential emergency powers, their past uses, and aspects and potential risks of abuse of power that current statutes enable.   The article goes into what the Constitution does and doesn't say about presidential emergency powers, as well specific acts of Congress that give Presidents emergency powers including the National Emergencies Act of 1976, International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPE, 1977), the Communications Act of 1934. It also discusses Presidential Emergency Action Documents (PEADS), documents that are pre-prepared for national emergencies.)


Perhaps from this event, the public will come to demand legislation that amends or replaces that law and other related laws that fail to adequately address the misuse or potential abuse of presidential powers - and that enacts appropriate, wise and prudent limits on those powers.