Impeachment hearings

Trump to face limits of his power

For three years, Donald Trump has unapologetically defied the conventions of the American presidency. Yesterday, he comes face to face with the limits of his power, confronting an impeachment process enshrined in the Constitution that will play out in public and help shape how the president will be viewed by voters next year and in the history books for generations.

Trump accepted the Republican nomination, declaring that “I alone can fix” the nation’s problems. Once elected, he set about reshaping the presidency, bending and dismantling institutions surrounding the 230-year-old office. Now a parade of career public servants will raise their hands and swear an oath to the truth, not the presidency, representing an integral part of the system of checks and balances envisioned by the Founding Fathers.

“Trump can do away with the traditions and niceties of the office, but he can’t get away from the Constitution,” said Douglas Brinkley, presidential historian at Rice University. “During Watergate, many people feared that if a president collapsed, America is broken. But the lesson of Nixon is that the Constitution is durable and the country can handle it.”

 

Impeachment hearings

Trump to face limits of his power

For three years, Donald Trump has unapologetically defied the conventions of the American presidency. Yesterday, he comes face to face with the limits of his power, confronting an impeachment process enshrined in the Constitution that will play out in public and help shape how the president will be viewed by voters next year and in the history books for generations. Trump accepted the Republican nomination, declaring that I alone can fix the nations problems. Once elected, he set about reshaping the presidency, bending and dismantling institutions surrounding the 230-year-old office. Now a parade of career public servants will raise their hands and swear an oath to the truth, not the presidency, representing an integral part of the system of checks and balances envisioned by the Founding Fathers. Trump can do away with the traditions and niceties of the office, but he cant get away from the Constitution, said Douglas Brinkley, presidential historian at Rice University. During Watergate, many people feared that if a president collapsed, America is broken. But the lesson of Nixon is that the Constitution is durable and the country can handle it.