How Governments Die

This week, the House Republicans decided to pass a law Rules issued by the executive branch concerning more than $100 million must get reviewed by the legislative branch. Though unlikely to pass the Senate, this performative legislation is problematic in multiple ways. For one thing, it’s a clear overreach of constitutional authority for the law-making branch to interfere with the executive branch’s operations. If Congress want money to be used in a certain way, then it should say so in the bills as passed. But there’s a second, more nefarious, possibility.