A handful of Republicans voiced their concerns Tuesday in pushing back at Donald Trump's claim that he has full authority over when to...
A handful of Republicans voiced their concerns Tuesday in pushing back at Donald Trump's claim that he has full authority over when to reopen states in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.
Rand Paul warned Americans that they would 'have more to worry about than a virus' if the federal government was able to seize power from the states.
'The constitution doesn't allow the federal gov't to become the ultimate regulator of our lives because they wave a doctor's note,' the Kentucky senator tweeted. 'Powers not delegated are RESERVED to states & the PEOPLE.'
'If we dispense with constitutional restraints, we will have more to worry about than a virus,' he continued, inciting the last amendment to the Bill of Rights.
Liz Cheney, who serves as the House Republican Conference Chair, also indirectly called out the president in a tweet Tuesday.
'The federal government does not have absolute power,' the No. 3 Republican asserted in a Twitter post.
She then quoted the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution in her tweet: 'The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.' United States Constitution, Amendment X'
Republican Senator Rand Paul said Tuesday that if the federal government is able to take away states' rights, 'we will have more to worry about than a virus'
He tweeted his assertion that the Constitution gives states power to the states that are not reserved to the federal government following Trump's contradictory comments this week
Republican Rep. Liz Cheney also asserted that the federal government does not have the absolute power over states without naming Donald Trump or make reference to his comments
She also quoted the Tenth Amendment, which establishes states' rights and gives states powers not delegated specifically to the federal government
Donald Trump said Monday that he has the 'absolute power' to reopen states and end their lockdowns in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak
He tweeted Tuesday morning that any governors who defy his orders are the matter are engaging in a 'mutiny'
Marco Rubio weighed in, claiming that governors would be in charge of decided when their respective states would start lifting social distancing guidelines and stay-at-home orders
The Tenth Amendment establishes states' rights, expressing the principle of federalism, and delegate states hold any powers not explicitly given to the federal government.
Trump's recent comments contradict this amendment.
Cheney's rebuke to Trump came after the president said he had the total power to decide when states should end their lockdowns and begin to reopen after shutting down in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Wyoming Republican is a Trump loyalist – but her tweet Tuesday was obviously a direct hit at the president for his assertions.
Cheney's office did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment on the tweet.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio also spoke out against the comments.
'How & when to modify physical distancing orders should & will be made by Governors,' he insisted on Twitter.
'Federal guidelines issued by @CDCgov & @WhiteHouse will be very influential,' he continued in the post. 'But the Constitution & common sense dictates these decisions be made at the state level.'
Trump on Tuesday said any governor who resisted his 'total authority' is a mutineer and threatened to withhold coronavirus aid from their respective states if they didn't heed his call to reopen the country.
'Tell the Democrat Governors that 'Mutiny On The Bounty' was one of my all time favorite movies. A good old fashioned mutiny every now and then is an exciting and invigorating thing to watch, especially when the mutineers need so much from the Captain. Too easy!,' he tweeted.
The president was defending his claim that he has authority to reopen states to business in the wake of the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus, which goes against the 10th amendment of the constitution.
Several governors blasted Trump, especially New York's Andrew Cuomo – whose state has been most affected by the outbreak.
Cuomo called the president 'schizophrenic' and threatened to take him to court over the matter as a constitutional crisis began to brew.
Trump took to Twitter after Cuomo went on the morning shows to slam the president's interpretation of the balance of power between the state and federal government.
'Cuomo's been calling daily, even hourly, begging for everything, most of which should have been the state's responsibility, such as new hospitals, beds, ventilators, etc. I got it all done for him, and everyone else, and now he seems to want Independence! That won't happen!,' the president wrote.
The standoff began during a heated press conference inside the White House on Monday evening, when Trump claimed that his office holds 'absolute power' over the shutdowns prompted by the novel coronavirus outbreak - hours after Cuomo and eight other Democratic governors unveiled a pact to work together to coordinate the reopening of their respective states.
'When somebody is the president of the United States, the authority is total,' Trump told reporters in response to the announcement.
He declined to specify where his authority to overrule states comes from when pressed by DailyMail.com.
Instead, he reiterated: 'The federal government has absolute power.
But Cuomo pointed out Trump left it up to the states to buy their own medical supplies and to issue stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus crisis, arguing the president can't accede that responsibility to the states and then contend he is an absolute authority.
'This is a 180. I have total authority. I'm going to tell the states what to do. So it makes no sense. It is schizophrenic,' Cuomo told CNN Tuesday morning 'New Day.'
The New York Democrat made it clear he would not obey any such order from Trump to reopen his state, adding he would take the matter to the courts to let them rule on it.
'If he ordered me to reopen in a way that would endanger the public health of the people of my state, I wouldn't do it. And we would have a constitutional challenge between the state and the federal government and that would go into the courts, and that would be the worst possible thing he could do at this moment would be to act dictatorial and to act in a partisan divisive way,' Cuomo said.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo called President Donald Trump 'schizophrenic' for claiming he has 'total authority' over the states to reopen the United States
Andrew Cuomo said he will take President Donald Trump to court if he orders him to reopen New York
The governor warned Trump could create a 'constitutional crisis.'
'The only way this situation gets worse is if the president creates a constitutional crisis. If he says to me, I declare it open, and that is a public health risk or it's reckless with the welfare of the people of my state, I will oppose it. And then we will have a constitutional crisis like you haven't seen in decades,' Cuomo said on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe.'
'I just hope he gets control of what he was saying last night and he doesn't go down that road,' he added.
Trump has clashed with many of the nation's governors, who have pleaded with the federal government for masks, ventilators, personal protective equipment, and other supplies to battle the coronavirus.
He also has pushed responsibility on them.
'I want the governors to be running things,' he said earlier this month.
But Trump, who was born in New York and made his name there, has spoken warmly of his relationship with Cuomo, whom he has called a friend. The president's new claim of power, however, has changed the tone between them.
Cuomo was clear Tuesday morning on where he stood.
'Keep the politics out of it,' he advised Trump during his CNN appearance.
Cuomo acknowledged there is an election coming up in November but said the current health pandemic - over 588,000 infected by the coronavirus in the United States with more than 23,000 deaths - supersedes that.
'I know he's running for re-election. I know this is a political year. I know it is a hyperpartisan environment. I know it is red versus blue. Not anymore. Not when it comes to this. This is red, white and blue. I have 10,000 deaths in my state. This virus didn't kill Democrats or Republicans. It killed Americans. And it killed New Yorkers. And I'm not going to go down a political road,' Cuomo said.
'It says the federal government does not have absolute power,' Cuomo said on CNN Tuesday morning. 'It says the exact opposite that the president said.'Cuomo refuted the president's claim to power, pointing out the Constitution lays out the balance of power between the state and federal governments.
'It says that would be a king,' Cuomo continued. 'We would have had King George Washington and we didn't have King George Washington. We don't have King Trump. We have President Trump. And, remember, the colonies created the federal government. The states created the federal government, not the other way around. We have a tenth amendment that is explicit, certain responsibilities are state responsibilities.'
Cuomo said the situation would be funny if the country weren't in the middle of a health crisis.
'To hear a Republican stand up there, by the way, and argue big government and total authority of the federal government is so amusing,' he said on MSNBC.
'If it wasn't so serious, it could be funny, it could be a comedy skit. It's frightening. It's frightening. This is the last place we should be, this crazy politics, this absurd positioning when we're talking about life and death. And we really have the toughest governmental problem we've ever faced right in front of us, and we have to deal with this absurdity,' he added.
The president, when pressed by reporters at the White House on Monday, could not say how he had the 'total authority' he claimed to hold or who told him he had such power.
'I'll put it very simply. The president of the United States has the authority to do what the president has the authority to do, which is very powerful. The president of the United States calls the shots,' Trump said.
He then took aim at the governors: 'They can't do anything without the approval of the president of the United States.'
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has rebuked President Trump's claims that he has blanket authority to order a reopening of the country and cease stay-at-home orders, saying Monday night that last time he checked the US had 'a constitution...not a king'
Trump speaking about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Monday
Asked what provisions of the Constitution gave him the power to override the states Trump replied: 'Numerous provisions.'
But he did not name any.
'When somebody's the president of the United States, the authority is total,' Trump said.
He also suggested any governor who defied his order would pay a political price.
'If some states refuse to open, I would like to see that person run for election,' he said.
Cuomo also questioned the president's logic when it came to states going on lockdown or issuing stay-at-home orders.
'The close down was left to the governors to do individually state by state. Now the reopen should be total authority? That makes no sense,' Cuomo reasoned.
Cuomo issued the president a parting shot, warning him that if he takes any measures that could potentially endanger the lives of New Yorkers - such as enforcing premature reopenings - then Cuomo will seek legal action.
'If he tried an edict from the White House that put the people of the state of New York in jeopardy or violated what I thought was in their best interest, from a public health point of view, we would just be off to a lawsuit,' he said.
'And that's the only way this really horrendous situation could get worse, is if you now see a war between the federal government and the states.'
Earlier on Monday, six governors from states on the east coast and three on the west coast announced their own pacts to come up with a framework on how and when to reopen.
All nine governors are Democrats and include Gavin Newsom of California and Andrew Cuomo of New York - both of whom have seen their ratings soar during their handling of the crisis.
But on Tuesday, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker became the first Republican state leader to join the council.
Pointedly, the governors on both coasts said that 'public health' was their leading priority.
But they put themselves on a collision course with Trump, who hyped his proclamation that he would decide on Twitter, after saying for days it would soon become time to 'reopen' the U.S. economy.
The president's emphatic statement came as it was revealed his task force on the vital matter will include cabinet members, his daughter and his son-in-law.
'A decision by me, in conjunction with the Governors and input from others, will be made shortly!'
'A decision by me, in conjunction with the Governors and input from others, will be made shortly!' President Trump tweeted about the decision to reopen the country
The task force is expected to include Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared, who has taken a key coronavirus response role, fielding calls from hot-spots seeking protective gear and trying to line up deliveries.
Both Ivanka Trump and Kushner have appeared with the president at separate White House coronavirus events – Kushner at a White House briefing and Ivanka Trump at a small business meeting in the Roosevelt Room.
The team will be headed by Trump's new chief of staff Mark Meadows, who previously headed the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Fox News reported.
Also serving with be Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao – who is married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Other cabinet members to serve include Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, White House advisers Larry Kudlow, Peter Navarro – who penned memos warning of the impact of the coronavirus, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, along with other officials.
Trump attacked the media and added confusion to how the decision to reopen would ultimately be made with a pair of tweets Monday.
'For the purpose of creating conflict and confusion, some in the Fake News Media are saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states, not that of the President of the United States & the Federal Government,' Trump wrote.
'Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect...It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons. With that being said, the Administration and I are working closely with the Governors, and this will continue. A decision by me, in conjunction with the Governors and input from others, will be made shortly!' he wrote.
It is state governors who issued the stay-at-home orders that took effect across the country.
Trump and Vice President Mike Pence issued 'guidelines' but the administration and health officials have provided considerable discussion and feedback to state officials.
Trump has previously noted on shut-down orders that it is governors who have imposed them, and he deferred to a group of GOP governors, many in rural states, who held back from issuing stay-home orders during as the coronavirus spread.
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