President Joe Biden has pledged sweeping action on climate change but struggled to deliver it. A legal scholar explains why a national emergency declaration should be a last resort.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on national emergency
Displaying all articles
Biden said the Defense Production Act would help end the shortage by directing suppliers of baby formula to prioritize delivery to formula manufacturers.
Declaring an issue is a national emergency lets presidents act quickly and with few constraints. But once they get this kind of power, it’s hard to take it back – and it can produce bad policies.
From Julius Caesar to Adolf Hitler, history is replete with examples of emergency powers being used to damage the very constitutional order they were designed to protect.
