Donald Trump and his allies are pledging to remake the presidency if he is elected again, giving him and the office more authority than it has ever had and certainly far more than the framers of the US Constitution envisioned.
The biggest problem with Trump’s plan for an all-powerful, unconstrained presidency, using in part proposals from his conservative allies at the Heritage Foundation, is that it’s a formula for authoritarian government. One-person rule — even elected one-person rule — is simply not compatible with republican ideals. It’s also contrary to the words and spirit of the U.S. Constitution, which establishes what political scientist Richard Neustadt called a system of “separated institutions sharing powers.” That’s even more true when that person has consistently shown contempt for the rule of law.
But perhaps less obvious is that this version of the presidency, in which the entire sprawling executive branch of the government loses its independence and acts as an extension of the White House staff, is a recipe for bad policy and comic blunders. That’s true no matter who the president might be.
