Do We Trust Every Future President?

I Believe · Oct 7, 2025 · 20m · transcript

Would we give a president this power if we distrusted the next person to hold the office? Written during the October 2025 government shutdown, this essay examines executive authority, congressional spending power, and the temptation to exchange constitutional friction for decisive action. Alexander Hamilton's proposal at the Constitutional Convention supplies the historical starting point.

Nixon's impoundment fight brings the argument to the money Congress has already authorized. Can a president decline to carry out a policy because he disagrees with it, and what happens when legislators stop…