Things the President CAN do. [View All]

[MineralMan]

There are a lot of things a President can't do. But, the Executive branch has some considerable authority in several areas. Here are a few things the President could do in an emergency situation:

1. Immediately close all foreign military bases or as many as he wished to close. Fly everyone home and just close them down. He is the Commander-in-Chief.
2. Remove all troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. Same process, start flying everyone out of there immediately. He is the Commander-in-Chief.
3. Direct the Treasury Department to temporarily stop issuing payments to any number of federal agencies. They are under the Executive Branch.
4. Shut down any agencies he wishes to which are administered by the Executive Branch. Furlough employees and turn off the lights.
5. Direct the closure of all airports which operate under the authority of the FAA. The FAA is an Executive Branch organization. Since the FAA is not funded at this time, safety issues could be cited.


All of these things could be done on a "temporary emergency" basis using no authority other than what the President has over the Executive agencies and departments. If the government doesn't have the money to fund these, then shutting them down would eliminate the need to pay for them.

I'm sure there are many other possibilities.

Now, it's almost unthinkable that he'd do this, and it would mean a one-term Presidency for him, and probably impeachment, but he could do those things.