Clothing the president with a power to control the legislation of congress, and paralyze the administration of justice

There is always difficulty in sorting, on a day to day basis, the strategic wheat from the tactical chaff. Obama Suspends the Law by Michael W. McConnell captures an issue that has been gnawing at me in recent years.

I came of age when Imperial Presidency still had circulation. Though the circumstances have changed, I think the underlying issue remains the same.

Of all the stretches of executive power Americans have seen in the past few years, the president's unilateral suspension of statutes may have the most disturbing long-term effects. As the Supreme Court said long ago (Kendall v. United States, 1838), allowing the president to refuse to enforce statutes passed by Congress "would be clothing the president with a power to control the legislation of congress, and paralyze the administration of justice."