Constitutional Challenges to the Balance of Power: The Imperial Presidency Redux?

Instructor: Professor Shirley Anne Warshaw
               Department of Political Science

Throughout its eight years in office, the Bush administration pursued an interpretation of its constitutional prerogatives that allowed broad discretion of the president's commander in chief role. Among the prerogatives asserted were that wireless surveillance and harsh interrogation were firmly within the president's national security portfolio. In addition, President Bush asserted that he could determine the constitutionality of a bill and could choose whether or not to enforce it in full or in part. This course will explore how Congress and the Judiciary have responded to these broad assertions of constitutional authority by the Bush administration, and to similar ones by past presidents. As the course unfolds, we will assess how the Obama administration interprets its constitutional authority and the reaction of the other two branches.