Sarah Gibbard Cook
  • Home
  • About
  • Writing
  • Contact

Foreign Policy and the Constitution #1: The Executive Branch

5/19/2025

0 Comments

 
Picture
Nearly ninety years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the president is “the sole organ of the federal government in the field of international relations,” wielding an exclusive power “which does not require as a basis for its exercise an act of Congress but which, of course, like every other governmental power, must be exercised in subordination to the applicable provisions of the Constitution.” (United States v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp., 1936).

It unnerves me to think I could be detained and deported any time someone in the executive branch, unfettered in foreign affairs, decides one of my blog posts threatens current U.S. international policy. It’s unlikely to happen soon. I am a white, straight, cis, native-English-speaking, American-born daughter of two naturalized immigrants. Still, if it can happen to one U.S. citizen or legal resident, it can happen to any of us. More likely, first I’ll lose access to email and social media on the grounds that my words endanger national security.

Under the Constitution, the president is commander in chief. It authorizes him to make treaties and appoint ambassadors, with advice and consent of the Senate. Congress may delegate other powers to him, but according to Curtiss-Wright, in international affairs he can act without delegation from Congress. The only guardrails appear to be those in the Bill of Rights and other parts of the Constitution. May those guardrails be strong enough to save us from crashing off the cliff.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    I'm a historian who writes novels and literary nonfiction. My home base is Madison, Wisconsin. 


      ​get updates

    Sign up


    ​Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • About
  • Writing
  • Contact