President Trump has declared seven national emergencies, including one at the U.S. southern border to stop illegal migration, one on energy to address supply and infrastructure, two to impose sanctions on foreign terrorist organizations and on International Criminal Court personnel, and three to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. In addition, in his first weeks in office, he has issued over 70 executive orders, more than any other President in 40 years, on a wide array of issues from revoking birthright citizenship and freezing federal grants to establishing an American First foreign policy and designating drug cartels as terrorist organizations.
The US Constitution gives the US President no express emergency powers. So where do these powers derive from, how extensive are they, what additional authorities do they trigger and what are the checks and balances exercised by Congress and the Judiciary? Furthermore, how do these emergency powers influence the United States’ foreign policy decisions and actions?
In this episode of Transatlantic Currents, we will discuss President’s Trump use of emergency declarations and executive orders with Elizabeth Goitein, a nationally recognized U.S. expert on presidential emergency powers. She is the senior director for the Liberty and National Security Program, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.
Programme:
Opening words:
Charly Salonius-Pasternak, Leading Researcher, FIIA
Speaker:
Elizabeth Goitein, Senior Director for the Liberty and National Security Program, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
Chair:
Ambassador Deborah McCarthy, Non-Resident Fellow, FIIA
Transatlantic Currents is a monthly webinar series hosted by FIIA’s Center on US Politics and Power featuring American experts on political science and international relations. The series covers a wide array of timely topics from foreign and defense policy to US domestic issues of particular interest to the transatlantic community. The webinars are hosted by FIIA Non-Resident Fellows, Ambassador (retired) Deborah McCarthy and Leo Michel.
