Defining the Presidency (Part 3): Executive Power Grab

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Acts 1:8

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

NKJV

Jesus is about to ascend to Heaven to be with His Father.  He is leaving his disciples and knows they are about to face persecution and death for their faith.  For this reason he told his disciples to wait for the Promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit in order to receive power to spread the Gospel in spite of the tremendous persecution they would face (Acts1:4).

Power in the person of the Holy Spirit is power absent corruption for the same Holy Spirit empowering us to spread the Gospel is the Holy Spirit that humbles us to come to Christ for forgiveness from our sins.  In other words, the same Spirit that empowers can also humble thus keeping us from becoming corrupted by the power the Holy Spirit gives.

Knowing that absolute power can corrupt and having seen the results of this corruption first hand in King George, the founders of the United States were extremely cautious when it came to forming the type of federal government the new nation would have.  For this reason, they established three co-equal branches of government in order to provide assurance against power falling into the hands of one, or a group of individuals thus corrupting them. 

Unfortunately, the hunger for absolute power is insatiable and even with the separation of powers that the founders established in the U.S. Constitution, power has been incrementally transferred to the executive branch of the United States government redefining the Presidency. 

This transference of power has occurred through,

1)      An increasingly powerful unelected administrative branch – Only the judicial branch of the United States government is unelected.  However, judges appointed to the bench go through an appointment and confirmation process involving both elected branches of government.  However, the administration of many governmental functions occurs through various unelected administrative agencies, which in themselves have the authority to issue directives, or regulations, which take on the power of law.  This is the growing bureaucracy which has bloated government to the point where it is more interested in preserving its own existence than serving citizens who did not elect them (1)  and with no accountability to voters, we must ask, who regulates the regulators.  (2)  These administrative agencies work under the authority of the executive branch so in essence, much of the lawmaking authority, which constitutionally exists in the U.S. Congress, occurs through the Executive Branch.  (3)

2)      The politicizing of judicial appointments – Article 3 of the U.S. Constitution lists the enumerated powers, or job description of the judiciary.  The main duty of the judiciary is settling of disputes between citizens or citizens and their government.  Section 2 clause 1 states their duty is to make rulings based upon the rule of law of the Constitution and treaties made by the government.  (4)  To fulfill these duties one would assume the President and Congress would appoint and confirm individuals possessing vast knowledge of the U.S. Constitution and a commitment to uphold the rule of law.  However, just as congress has abdicated much of its lawmaking authority to the executive branch, the politicization of the judiciary has caused political philosophy and not the commitment to the rule of law to become the main yardstick used to determine an individual’s qualification to sit on the bench.  This has resulted in the appointment of judges with an agenda to advance an often unconstitutional legislative or executive agenda with no regard to the Constitution or rule of law.  As examples, we only have to turn to the recent rulings in favor of Obamacare (5) by ruling the mandate a tax even though the legislation does not mention it as a tax, and the legalization of gay marriage without even going through any legislative process.  (6) 

This unconstitutional transference of power has empowered the executive branch to write legislation through a growing administrative branch and the power to appoint judges and justices that will uphold these laws.  In essence, this power transfer has created a soft tyranny centered in the executive branch instead of power evenly distributed among the three co-equal branches of government. 

Next Wednesday, in the final installment of defining the Presidency, we will look at what we must do to restore co-equal government with separated powers. 

1. Turley, Jonathan. The Rise of the Fourth Branch of Government. www.washingtonpost.com. [Online] The Washington Post, May 24, 2013. [Cited: May 14, 2016.] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-rise-of-the-fourth-branch-of-government/2013/05/24/c7faaad0-c2ed-11e2-9fe2-6ee52d0eb7c1_story.html.

2. Slattery, Elizabeth. Who Will Regulate the Regulators? Administrative Agencies, the Separation of Powers, and Chevron Deference. www.heritage.org. [Online] The Heritage Foundation, May 7, 2015. [Cited: May 14, 2016.] http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2015/05/who-will-regulate-the-regulators-administrative-agencies-the-separation-of-powers-and-chevron-deference

3. Lee, United States Senator Mike. Mike Lee: 'Congress Cedes Far Too Much Lawmaking Authority to the Executive Branch'. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, January 26, 2015. [Cited: May 14, 2016.] http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/01/26/mike-lee-congress-cedes-far-too-much-lawmaking-authority-to-the-executive-branch/.

4. Legal Information Institute. U.S. Constitution. www.law.cornell.edu/constitution. [Online] Cornell University Law School. [Cited: June 19, 2012.] http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution.

5. The Editors. Chief Justice Roberts’s Folly . www.nationalreview.com. [Online] The National Review, June 28, 2012. [Cited: December 6, 2013.] http://www.nationalreview.com/article/304311/chief-justice-robertss-folly-editors.

6. Sells, Heather. Gay Marriage Ruling Fallout: Christian Leaders React. www.cbn.com. [Online] CBN News, June 27, 2015. [Cited: June 27, 2015.] http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2015/June/Christian-Leaders-React-to-Gay-Marriag-Ruling/.