Biden Is Pressed to Declare Emergencies After Climate, Abortion Setbacks – WSJ

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that both actions a public-health emergency on abortion and a national emergency on climate were under consideration, and that each type of emergency declaration would unlock a different set of authorities and funding. Both steps are opposed by Republicans.

Emergency powers have typically been used in response to natural disasters, health crises, foreign attacks and to impose sanctions against a foreign threat. For example, a public-health emergency to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic was implemented under former President Donald Trump and remains in effect, though Republicans and Democrats have argued over whether that emergency status is still needed.

Presidents from both parties have been accused at times of overstepping their authority with such declarations.

Emergency powers were never meant to address longstanding problems or to implement long-term or semipermanent solutions, said Elizabeth Goitein, an expert on emergency powers for the Brennan Center for Justice. The purpose is to give presidents a temporary boost in powers to address problems that Congress can t address quickly or are moving too quickly.

via www.wsj.com

This is troubling. Presidents don’t normally declare a national emergency to get around what a co-equal branch of government has done. It might be a political emergency, but it’s not an emergency emergency.