WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's emergency powers are worrying senators and legal experts. Dozens of special authorities become available to any president during national emergencies.
They are rarely used, but Trump last month stunned legal experts and others when he mistakenly claimed that he had “total” authority over governors in easing COVID-19 guidelines. That prompted 10 senators to probe how sweeping Trump believes his emergency powers are.
They want to see this administration’s Presidential Emergency Action Documents. These little-known, classified documents don’t give a president authority beyond what’s in the Constitution, but they outline what powers a president believes the Constitution allows him to exercise during national emergencies.
