Through our history, presidents seeking to enlarge their powers beyond constitutional limits have been checked by Congress. Most often, the Senate has asserted its powers to persuade the president to “stay in his lane.” Past episodes involved discreet areas of presidential power. Nonetheless, Congress has jealously guarded the powers assigned to it by the Constitution. Presidents Jackson, Lincoln, Wilson, Roosevelt, Truman, Johnson and Nixon among others have felt the congressional pushback.

President Nixon’s abuses of power exposed by the “Watergate” investigation were allowed to fester before the Congress finally had enough. The House would have impeached the President, but under pressure from the Senate, President Nixon resigned. Many of us who are alarmed by President Trump’s willingness to ignore legal norms and distressed by brutal exercise of power expect that Congress will assert its power to preserve our constitutional system. Sadly, members of the president’s party appear willing to allow the president to usurp their powers. They did not learn the lessons of President Nixon performance over several years during which he illegally used the FBI, CIA and IRS to conduct personal and political vendettas. Congress’s failure to call President Nixon to task led to ever expanding abuses. Either lack of courage or dishonorable performance is at work as we listen to sitting senators offer explanations for their inaction. It is not a matter of party loyalty; it is a matter of preserving and defending the Constitution.

Richard Hesse

Hopkinton