Constitution

• The vagueness of the constitution has allowed the Supreme Court to protect rights through rulings and "informal amendments" and "judicial activism" such as in cases like Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) and Windsor v. United States (2014)
• The constitution grants the president the power to make appointments with the advice and consent of the senate, yet also allows temporary appointments during senate recesses without senate approval, which has been used by presidents to get around the time and length of appointment confirmation
• The 2nd Amendment clearly protects the right to gun ownership and has prevented meaningful gun control from passing
• Only 27 Amendments have been made to the constitution, protecting state power by only making necessary changes
• Federalism examples under different presidents:

  • George W. Bush: No Child Left Behind, Medicare expansion, Homeland security and defense spending increase
  • Obama: Stimulus package, ACA, DACA, DAPA
  • Trump: Extensive use of executive orders, "wall" lawsuits, rescinding the Cole memo
  • Biden: American Action Plan worth $1.9 trillion in 2021
• The "Necessary and Proper" clause in the Constitution has allowed for the Supreme Court to protect rights through their rulings and "informal amendments" and "judicial activism" to the constitution
• Examples of Supreme Court rulings using the vague nature of the Constitution include:

  • Obergefell V Hodges (2015)
  • Windsor V United States (2014) which ruled that section 3 of DOMA, denying federal recognition of same-sex marriages, violated the Due Process clause of the 5th amendment
• The power of the president has been expanded due to the vague nature of the Constitution, allowing actions like deploying troops without specific authorization from Congress, as seen with Obama's air strikes against ISIS in 2014
• The Constitution grants the president the power to make appointments with the advice and consent of the Senate, but also allows temporary appointments during Senate recesses without Senate approval, as seen with George W. Bush's 171 recess appointments
• Executive agreements allow presidents to make international agreements without seeking Senate approval, such as the 2015 Paris Agreement
• The 2nd Amendment clearly protects the right to gun ownership, preventing meaningful gun control from passing
• Only 27 Amendments have been made to the Constitution, protecting state power by only making necessary changes
• Federalism examples under George W. Bush include:

  • No Child Left Behind
  • Medicare expansion
  • Homeland security and defense spending increase
  • USA Patriot Act 2001 expanding federal government rights to detain people and collect information
• Under Obama, actions like signing a stimulus package and the ACA faced legal challenges, showing the balance of federal control over healthcare
• Trump's presidency saw extensive use of executive orders, which some viewed as expanding federal power
• Biden's American Action Plan in 2021 included measures like direct payments to Americans, increased tax breaks for parents, and funding for Covid testing and vaccines
• -George W Bush made 171 Recess appointments
• -1/5 Americans want to 2"* amendment repealed 
• -The Equal Rights Amendment Which would have outlawed discrimination was signed by 37 states however failed to pass due to it not reaching the required 38 (Tyranny of the Minority) 
• Federalism: 

  George W Bush: 

  -No Child Left Behind- federal regulation in state issue 

  -Medicare- expanded at the cost of $400 billion- 25 house reps voted against it 

  -Home land security and defence spending rose form $290 billion to $651 billion 

  $700 billion (about $2,200 per person in the US) Wall Street "bail out" 

  -USA Patriot Act 2001- expanded the rights of federal government to detain people and collect information about them. 
• Obama signed a stimulus package of $246 billion in 2009, where the money went directly to the states to spend
• In the case National Federation of Independent Businesses v. Sebelius, brought to court by Republicans and the Tea Party movement, some aspects of Obama care were struck down for coercion of states by the federal government, but most of the Affordable Care Act (ACXA) was upheld, establishing the principle of federal control over healthcare
• DACA in 2012 and DAPA in 2014 were viewed by Republicans as federal overstretch and were partially struck down in United States v. Texas
• The Cole Memo from the Justice Department stated it would not enforce federal restrictions on marijuana where states had legalized it, except in circumstances involving firearms
• Trump: 

  -Extensive use of executive orders can be seen as expanding federal power 

  -16 states filed law suits to stop the building of the "wall"- upheld in district court due to executive overreach 

  -Rescinded the Cole memo 

  -Executive order stripped federal grants from "sanctuary cities"- later founa unconstitutional 

  -Carpenter V United States 2018- SC found that the federal government must obtain a warrant for a citizens cellphone location records 
• In 2021, President Biden signed the American Action plan worth $1.9 trillion, which included:

  • One-off direct payments of $1,400 to most Americans earning under $75,000
  • Increased tax breaks for parents
  • $350 billion (about $1,100 per person in the US) to state and local government
  • $130 billion (about $400 per person in the US) to help reopen schools
  • $49 billion (about $150 per person in the US) for Covid testing
  • $14 billion (about $43 per person in the US) for vaccines
• The American Action plan was popular despite receiving no Republican support in Congress; polls suggested that 70% of Americans supported the bill
• In the 2022 midterms, the Democrat vote held up well
• The Bi-Partisan Safer Communities Act is the first federal gun control bill in over 30 years, requiring those under 21 to undergo enhanced background checks and closing the "boyfriend" loophole