As a further means of controlling the power of government, the Constitution sets up the three federal branches and provides mechanisms for them to act as checks and balances on each other. Specialized areas of authority are reserved by the Constitution to the president, Congress, and the courts. The president, among other things, executes laws, negotiates treaties, and commands the armed forces; the Supreme Court and the inferior courts exert the power of judicial review; and Congress alone has the power to legislate. President Obama was harshly criticized for some of his executive orders. For example, he sought to shield millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation, a maneuver that his critics saw as unconstitutional legislation by the executive branch. President Trump was likewise criticized for declaring a national emergency to divert military funds to build a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico when Congress had otherwise limited funding, and for launching an airstrike on Baghdad International Airport that killed Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian general and commander of Iran’s elite special operations force, without first notifying Congress, underscoring the inherent tension between the President’s role as Commander-in-Chief of the military and Congress’s power to declare war. 

Questions 

1. As noted, the Constitution does not expressly authorize judicial review. Should we, therefore, assume that the framers of the Constitution did not intend to afford that power to the courts? Explain. 

2. In your view, do the courts have too much power in our lives? Explain.