Originally a comment by Nullius in Verba on Accountable to the pumpkin.

Unfortunately, we’ve been sliding toward de facto dictatorship for a long, long time. Presidential administrations, regardless of party, have a history of expanding executive power and diminishing congressional authority as defined by the Constitution. (Or as Jon Stewart put it, “Again, for some reason, we have given presidents the power of a king. And then we say, oh, by the way, with that power, you’re not going to get all, like, kingly and shit on us, right?”)

  While this particular move directly asserts White House control over independent agencies, the broader pattern of presidents’ centralizing power at the expense of Congress has been ongoing for literal decades. This Trump order isn’t exactly an outlier, not even from what Democratic presidents have done.

– Both Democratic and Republican administrations have increasingly bypassed Congress in military actions (e.g., Libya intervention under Obama, Syria strikes under Biden), avoiding formal war declarations. The last time Congress actually did its Constitutionally defined job and formally declared war was over eighty years ago, in 1942. That means every single war the US has been … not a war?

– The Obama administration increased White House oversight over regulatory agencies, particularly through executive orders such as Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review (EO 13563) and Regulatory Planning and Review (EO 12866, which Obama reaffirmed). These required independent agencies to justify their regulations under cost-benefit analysis frameworks set by the White House.

– The Biden administration used executive orders and agency directives to enforce major policy changes (e.g., student loan forgiveness, OSHA’s vaccine mandates) without clear congressional authorization. His regulatory review changes (EO 14094) further centralized regulatory power under the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), similar to Trump’s move.

– Under Dodd-Frank (2010), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was set up to be largely independent of congressional budgetary control, with funds coming directly from the Federal Reserve. This effectively removed oversight from Congress, paralleling Trump’s attempt to consolidate oversight under the executive branch.

– Through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, the Obama administration effectively redefined immigration enforcement priorities without congressional approval. This set a precedent for the executive branch to determine de facto immigration policy, bypassing legislative debate. It’s not like that came back to bite anyone in the ass, though.

– Presidents frequently declare national emergencies to bypass congressional gridlock. Obama declared an emergency over the Swine Flu, while Biden extended COVID-19 emergency powers long after the pandemic’s peak. This follows a trend where executive declarations serve as justification for unilateral policy changes.

Sometimes it feels like America just wants to live in a dictatorship. Well, at least a dictatorship run by the people on our side. That’s certainly the way we behave.