The Imperial Presidency's Expanded Powers Must Be Systematically Dismantled
Source: Branko Marcetic. "The Imperial Presidency Must End." April 15, 2026. jacobin.com
The Gist
Trump's scary actions are possible because presidents have been given way too much power over the past 20 years, especially around war and surveillance. Both Republicans and Democrats have made this worse when they're in charge, then complain when the other party uses those same powers. The only real solution is to permanently limit what any president can do, not just get rid of Trump.
Conclusion
The United States must fundamentally roll back the expanded executive powers of the presidency rather than simply removing Trump or winning elections
Premises
- Trump's dangerous actions are enabled by decades of expanded presidential war powers and national security authority created during the 'war on terror'
- Bush's post-9/11 policies created the foundation for Trump's abuses through extraordinary rendition, surveillance programs, and redefinition of war powers
- Obama expanded rather than rolled back these imperial powers, adding drone assassination programs and special forces operations
- Democrats historically abandon civil liberties concerns when they hold power, only to complain about executive overreach under Republican presidents
- No person can be trusted with such concentrated power, and there's no guarantee future presidents won't be equally dangerous
- Current Democratic responses (war powers resolutions, impeachment, electoral victories) are insufficient to address the structural problem
- The cycle of expanding executive power under both parties will continue unless fundamental reforms are implemented
Assumptions
- Executive power will inevitably be abused when concentrated in one person
- Both major political parties are complicit in expanding presidential authority
- Structural reforms are more effective than personnel changes
- The current level of presidential power exceeds constitutional limits
- Future dangerous presidents are inevitable without systemic change