Slate Daily Feed Political Gabfest | CDC DOA
Sep 4, 2025
This week, public health expert Josh Sharfstein shares insights from his experience as a former health commissioner and FDA official. He discusses the troubling implications of recent CDC changes, including risks to public health and vaccine accessibility. The conversation also covers the political ramifications of the Trump administration's legal challenges as they near the Supreme Court and the complicated landscape of a potential government shutdown. The team weighs in on how these issues could reshape public trust and health initiatives moving forward.
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Courts Question Emergency Power Pretexts
- Courts are scrutinizing Trump's use of 'emergency' claims as pretext for broad powers and often halt actions for lacking statutory authority.
- The key question is whether the Supreme Court will 'look beneath the hood' and reject thin pretexts for sweeping executive authority.
Major Questions Doctrine Meets The Presidency
- The major questions doctrine limits agencies from using vague statutes to take huge actions without clear congressional authorization.
- Courts must decide whether that doctrine applies equally to presidential actions as it does to agency rulemaking.
Emergency Powers Threaten Constitutional Design
- Allowing executives to declare emergencies risks turning temporary powers into near-permanent authority that erodes separation of powers.
- The founders guarded taxation and spending for Congress to check executive overreach and protect democratic accountability.
