4/17/20: If you didn’t already have
enough to worry about – such as getting infected with coronavirus and ending up
in an ICU bed – Mr. Trump has been talking about adjourning both houses of Congress. He’s miffed because he
can’t have his way in the Senate with every appointment to top positions in the
U.S. government he makes. Senate confirmations! What a pain in the posterior.
 |
James II sent lawmakers home and left them there. |
Here, we should note that the Founding Fathers included specific provisions in the Constitution to make it impossible for a president to close Congress on a whim. Unlike the Big Orange Fool, the Founding Fathers knew their history. They understood that English kings often managed to work around roadblocks thrown up by Parliament by proroguing that body. That is, they sent lawmakers home by decree and didn’t bother to recall them. James II, for example, sent Parliament home in May 1685. In July 1687, he dissolved the body entirely and ruled by himself.
Since lawmakers weren’t in session, they couldn’t complain.
Trump would love it if he could do the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment