Rep. Liz Cheney publicly contradicted President Trump’s edict that he has the unilateral authority to reopen the country as he sees fit.
Trump, at Monday’s White House press briefing, said that the president’s “authority is total” when it comes to reopening the country after the coronavirus pandemic. His comments, which reiterated tweets he sent earlier in the day, came after governors in the Northeast and West Coast agreed to work collaboratively to reopen school systems and economies in their regions.
Cheney, the third-ranking Republican in the House, disagreed with Trump’s assessment of the situation, arguing that the federal government does not have unlimited power in this respect.
“The federal government does not have absolute power,” the Wyoming Republican lawmaker wrote before citing the Tenth Amendment, which says the powers not specifically delegated to the federal government or prohibited from state control are reserved for the states.
The federal government does not have absolute power.
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” United States Constitution, Amendment X
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) April 13, 2020
Trump, during his combative press conference, argued that the governors must work with him on reopening their states, saying, “It’s a decision for the president of the United States.”
“The president of the United States has the authority to do what the president has the authority to do, which is very powerful. The president of the United States calls the shots,” he said. “If we weren’t here for the states, you would’ve had a problem in this country like you’ve never seen before.”
