Not illegal, just ineffective
Within hours of President Donald Trump’s announcement that his administration would provide pandemic-related relief to millions of Americans, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle assailed the move as yet another instance of presidential overreach.
Trump has so often exceeded normal limits on presidential authority that it is easy to assume unlawfulness on his part. But the problem with Trump’s actions in this instance isn’t that they are illegal or unconstitutional. It’s that they promise to be inadequate and ineffective. They are, at best, Band-Aids on an open wound.
Still, they are Band-Aids that Trump has legal authority to apply under the power that Congress has allowed him to exercise in a disaster.
Start with the most significant action: a memorandum ordering the Federal Emergency Management Agency to approve payments to out-ofwork Americans. The statute that authorizes this move, the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, allows the president, in consultation with the governor of each state, to provide financial assistance for “necessary expenses or serious needs resulting from [a] major disaster.”
First, the law requires states to bear 25 percent of cash-assistance costs. So for aid to reach people’s pockets, Trump will need help from governors. Not all governors have money available to pay their share, and some may need to reconvene legislatures for emergency sessions.
Even if all goes according to plan, $400 a week is only two-thirds what unemployment insurance claimants received in federal aid through July. Thirty-one million Americans and their families still will see a sharp income drop this month.
Trump’s other actions are even less effective—though equally lawful. He ordered Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to allow employers of workers earning less than around $100,000 annually to put off paying the employee payroll taxes they owe until January 2021.
This does nothing to help those without jobs, and little for those who remain employed. The Trump administration, in effect, is saying, “We don’t need to see that money until next year.” Bluster aside, though, the president cannot— without Congress—make Social Security tax obligations go away. He can only postpone them.
Trump promised that if he wins re-election, “I plan to forgive these taxes and make permanent cuts to the payroll tax.” That’s a big if.
The episode offers a sobering illustration of the limits of presidential power and the imperative of congressional involvement. Even when the president uses the full extent of his executive authority, the relief he can provide without additional funds or authorization from Congress is restricted.
It’s not enough to forestall financial distress for millions of American families for longer than a brief moment. To do that, Trump will need to compromise with congressional Democrats— something he has proved incapable of doing.
The lesson of Trump’s orders is not that the president alone can save us. It’s that he can’t.