The Power of Checks and Balances
According to Dictionary.com, "Checks and balances is a fundamental principle of American government, guaranteed by the Constitution, whereby each branch of the government (executive, judicial, and legislative) has some measure of influence over the other branches and may choose to block procedures of the other branches." The purpose of checks and balances is to ensure that no one branch can become too powerful. We, the people, are also a part of the check-and-balance system to restrain government power and abuse of power.
When the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution, they envisioned a president like Donald Trump. They did not predict the actions of Trump, however, they did understand that those who hold power could misuse it. The Constitution established a system of checks and balances so that the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government could each have powers reserved to it that the other branches didn't. The executive branch is relatively strong, but there are deliberate checks on the presidential authority in the powers the Constitution assigned to the Congress.
The current Congress has largely abdicated its constitutional responsibilities to provide oversight and guidance to Trump and his administration and is very apparent with regard to foreign and trade policy. This Congress has not held comprehensive hearings on Trump's policies towards NATO, North Korea, Russia, the European Union or China, despite controversies regarding the administration actions in these areas.
The Senate Finance Committee has held limited hearings on Trump's trade policies but has not produced legislation to affect administration policy. The free press is playing the role that the Founding Fathers intended and has provided the most effective oversight of those Trump administration officials who resigned for scandals involving the misuse of public funds.
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