Once Trump is gone, the U.S. must completely reform the presidency

[Dennis Donovan]

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/opinion/once-trump-is-gone-the-u-s-must-completely-reform-the-presidency/11/10/

Trump himself has committed a panoply of impeachable offences.

By Darragh Roche October 14, 2019

However Donald Trump leaves the White House, whether through impeachment, defeat at the polls or (God forbid) after a second term, there will be a reckoning in U.S. politics. For nearly three years now, a corrupt, authoritarian presidency has hacked away at democratic institutions and safeguards. Trump has surrounded himself with self-enriching cronies, conspiracy-minded propagandists and, yes, even criminals.

Trump himself has committed a panoply of impeachable offences. As an unnamed co-conspirator in the case against his former fixer Michael Cohen, Trump directed the commission of a crime. He likely attempted (or succeeded in) obstructing justice in the Russia probe. He has not, despite his promises, divested from his businesses and is making a profit from foreign governments, in violation of the constitution.

Pressuring Ukrainian President Voldoymyr Zelenskyy to investigate a political rival is just a high note in this opera of malfeasance. Now, he is refusing congressional subpoenas, trying to cover up his impeachable actions and taking a hatchet to the rule of law in the process.

Trump is committing these impeachable offences and possible crimes all while tearing up U.S. foreign policy. He has abandoned the Kurds to almost certain genocide in Syria; he is fulfilling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s policy goals in Ukraine and the Middle East and he continues to attack NATO allies through his deliberate misunderstanding of the organisation’s finances.

And for almost three years, he’s faced no consequences. Certainly, this is partly due to Republican ultras in the House and, especially since 2018, the Senate. But there is a more fundamental problem. The U.S. president is simply too powerful.

</snip>

To prevent another President Trump, the presidency itself must be diminished. Congress must reclaim the power to make war and peace. The White House must submit to greater scrutiny and be legally required to do so. Measures should be put in place to detect presidential malpractice early on, stop it, and punish it. None of this should require changes to the constitution, just changes to the law and political culture.

</snip>

I fundamentally agree with the conclusion of the article, however we also don't want to turn the Executive branch into a figurehead. Care must be taken when modifying the power of any co-equal branch.

[Mc Mike]

1. We need a constitutional protection squad.

Like the Swedes had in the Dragon Tattoo novel.

[MontanaFarmer]

2. 1)A revisiting of the OLC memo

on indictment of a sitting president. This guy, or any president with the right toady at DOJ, literally could shoot someone in times square and not be charged with a crime while in office. That's absolute power. 2) Revoke fast-track authority WRT trade agreements. Congress needs to have a say in what goes in a trade deal and what doesn't. That was as true under Obama as it is today; it's a bad policy. 3) Empower the opposition in the Senate. Mitch McConnell. That is all.
That is far from an exhaustive list, of course, but would be good places to begin if reforms were in the offing.

[Dennis Donovan]

3. That should be at the top of the list

[world wide wally]

4. The only cure is accountability.

Trump must face true consequences of the most severe magnitude. A stacked jury (the senate) makes this almost possible.
We are in a sad state of affairs in America.

[dalton99a]

5. The next Democratic president shouldn't have less power just because Republicans elected a traitor

[eppur_se_muova]

7. Absolutely. It's the GOP that needs to be rebuilt from scratch, or eliminated, not the gov't. nt

[BSdetect]

6. You'd better change the Constitution, the SCOTUS and how its members are appointed

and have lifetime tenure, the electoral college, gerrymandering, the states having two senators no matter their population, lobbyists,
corporations are people BS, and so much more.