Constitutional Experts: Trump Lacks Power to ‘Open Up the States’
Constitutional experts say President Donald Trump is wrong that he, not governors, has the power to “open up the states” where businesses were closed or residents were ordered to stay at home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
On April 10, Trump said he would “love to open” the country by May 1 and that he is creating what he called an “Opening Our Country” task force, which will “play a role” in determining when businesses would be reopened. But, he said, “ultimately, I have to make that decision.”
Several governors, however, said they would be making those kinds of determinations for their states, not the president. For example, on CNN’s “State of the Union” on April 12, Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she’d make any decision about easing coronavirus-related restrictions in her state.
“We’re going to make the decisions that safeguard New Mexicans,” Lujan Grisham said. “Everything we do is about protecting lives and first responders or health care workers.”
Lujan Grisham said she welcomed “better national strategies,” but, she added, “I’m going to do whatever is right for New Mexico. And we’ve begun looking at recovery options but we aren’t going to do anything until that peak occurs and we’re clear about not having hospitalizations and reducing the number of people that are positive every day in our surveillance and testing efforts.”
Last month, when Trump said he wanted to have the country “open for business” by Easter on April 12, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said his state would not oblige.
“Whatever messages that are coming out of Washington, we are going to make sure we take care of
