Episode 126: Checking the President

The Founding Fathers made sure to put checks in place that would prevent a president from becoming a king. But Professor Larry Jacobs explains that when it comes to foreign policy, the president goes largely unchecked. Next, Professor Frances Lee outlines the ways Congress has rebuked presidential power, even under the current administration. And finally, Professor Keith Whittington takes us to the courts, which have been skeptical of many of President Trump’s executive orders.

For More on this Topic:

• Read Jacobs’ book, Who Governs? Presidents, Public Opinion, and Manipulation
• Find Lee’s book, Insecure Majorities: Congress and the Perpetual Campaign
• Check out Whittington’s book, Political Foundations of Judicial Supremacy: The Presidency, the Supreme Court, and Constitutional Leadership in U.S. History
• Find more on the website for the conference, A Republic, If We Can Keep It, organized by the Cornell Center for the Study of Inequality with lead organizer Suzanne Mettler.