By Mike Matejka
Watching the current shock and awe Presidency unfold in Washington, I’m wondering, why are our central Illinois Republicans are now so quiet on executive over-reach.
President Obama, frustrated by a Republican Congress, issued executive orders, some of which stood up in court, some did not. In our tri-partite system of government, where the three branches are supposed to balance each other, some accuse executive order of over-reach.
In November 2014, President Obama issued an executive order on immigration, which would impact the immigrant parents of children born in the U.S. On November 20, 2014, our Illinois Republican Congressional delegation, including Congressman Rodney Davis from the 13th District, issued a press release, challenging what they saw as the President’s over-reach.
Their press release said, and I quote,
“President Obama’s plan to ignore the Constitution and circumvent Congress is a lawless move that will ultimately do much more harm than good. We believe Congress should take the lead on immigration reform, securing our borders, improving the visa system and addressing the many layers of our broken system. … By blatantly bypassing Congress to execute this illegal executive order, the president is neglecting the interest of the American people, diminishing our national security, undermining the rule of law, and setting back efforts to permanently and meaningfully fix what’s broken in the immigration system.” End quote.
Now we seem to have President Trump issuing executive orders almost daily. With Republicans controlling the House, the Senate and the Presidency, where is the out-cry over Presidential over-reach?
A strength of our political system is its deliberateness. If the President or Congress proposes a bill, there are hearings, usually more hearings, revisions and finally a vote. This means that any proposal is tempered by diverse voices. If Trump’s actions reflect Republican goals, then let them proceed through the Congress first, get a full hearing and debate, and perhaps even be improved with input. Since World War II, many worry about too much power shifting to the Presidency, away from the elected Congress. In the long-term interest of balanced government, I hope our Republican representatives get as upset by Presidential over-reach by Trump, as they did by Obama.
Mike Matejka is the Governmental Affairs director for the Great Plains Laborers District Council, covering 11,000 union Laborers in northern Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. He lives in Normal. He served on the Bloomington City Council for 18 years, is a past president of the McLean County Historical Society and Vice-President of the Illinois Labor History Society.
The opinions expressed within WJBC’s Forum are solely those of the Forum’s author, and are not necessarily those of WJBC or Cumulus Media, Inc.
