Addressing the issue of congressional authority to limit executive power must be examined through years of previous cases, Supreme Court decisions, and Congress’s enumerated powers. Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, but doesn’t specify what exactly that entails. On the other hand, the President is granted power to direct the military after war declaration. Because congressional authority can limit executive power, there are a few examples of Congress overriding decisions made by the President. In Ex parte Merryman, during the 1860’s President Lincoln unilaterally orders a blockade, suspends maritime law and habeas corpus, and issues the Emancipation Proclamation. With a clear overstep on his powers, Congress approves the blockade and the …show more content…
President Lincoln disagreed. During his time in office, Lincoln frequently acted unilaterally and insisted that as Commander in Chief he had this exclusive power, in addition to power to raise troops. He claimed that these presidential powers were necessary because Congress was not in session at the time and stated that his actions didn’t require “subsequent legislative ratification” (Gillman, 288). This is a clear representation of how Congress limited the authority of the President’s executive branch in his decision to suspend habeas corpus and impose maritime law without congressional authority. Another key example of how Congress can limit the power of the executive branch would be Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer in 1952. In April of 1952, during the Korean War, President Truman issued an executive order for the seizure and operation of most of the nation’s steel mills to prevent a strike by the Unites Steel Workers of