Executive Summary

Presidents of both parties have become more powerful, more partisan, and less popular. One sign of that: Presidents increasingly use emergency powers to go around Congress to spend money or use force. And more and more, they’re used in domestic politics, creating great concerns about our constitutional order. 

 Where do presidential emergency powers come from, and how did the founders think about these extraordinary powers? In the first episode of Executive Summary, hosts Bill Antholis and Lydia Schumann explore the origins of emergency powers with Russell Riley, the co-chair of the Miller Center’s Presidential Oral History Program and the White Burkett Miller Center Professor of Ethics and Institutions. Riley explains how these powers evolved from the founding to Lincoln, and how the public has reacted to “constitutional dictatorships.” The episode examines the role Congress has played in historic episodes of emergency, and how American institutions and citizens react to strong presidents.  

This is the first episode of season one of Executive Summary: The Miller Center’s Presidency Project Podcast. Our first season dives deep into the history and future of emergency powers, which is one of three focus areas for The Presidency Project. To learn more about the Miller Center’s work on emergency powers, or the Presidency Project, visit The Presidency Project.

The Miller Center is a nonpartisan institution at the University of Virginia that explores how the American presidency meets national priorities and engages scholars with leading citizens to help solve major problems.