Is there a U.S. version of this extraordinary
suspension of democracy?
Yes.
See the U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 3: The president “may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper.”
See the U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 3: The president “may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper.”
Harry Truman was the most recent president
to use this power—in his case to force them back into session. The last time
Congress was forced into session,
But how does this work for
adjournment?
To tee-up this situation a president needs to
have effective control of one chamber of Congress.
President Trump and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell are closely allied.
President Trump and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell are closely allied.
Hypothetically, let’s imagine that
pressure builds to call a major gun bill passed— or impeachment proceedings or production of his tax returns— in
the House. Senate Leader McConnell could adjourn the Senate, provided he had
the votes.
This would pressure Speaker Pelosi to
adjourn the House—but she would not agree to do so.
Enter the president: Seizing on this
discrepancy, he could “settle” the matter by adjourning the entire Congress.
To see a brief legal opinion (very
readable, short, informative) that President Truman used to convene Congress,
see https://www.justice.gov/file/20711/download.
There is no such legal opinion for
adjourning Congress. Boris Johnson may have inspired this kind of extraordinary
planning by the White House.
The bottom line is that
this power is fully constitutional even though it feels profoundly
undemocratic.
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