In February 2011, U.S. President Barak
Obama directed the U.S. Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage
Act, which bars federal recognition of gay marriages, against constitutional
challenges. “Previously, the administration had urged lawmakers to repeal it,
but had defended their right to enact it. In the following months, the
administration increased efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions through
environmental regulations, gave states waivers from federal mandates if they
agreed to education overhauls, and refocused deportation policy in a way that
in effect granted relief to some illegal immigrants brought to the country as
children. Each step substituted for a faltered legislative proposal.”[1] While not defying Congressional
statutes, the use of executive power to thwart defending a statute violates the
enforcement function of the executive branch. The other matters—enacting
environmental regulations, granting relief to some illegal immigrants, and
issuing state waivers presumably were under broader statutes that permit
administrative action by the executive branch. The danger, however, is that the
enforcement branch or arm could
become a legislative branch or arm of
the U.S. Government.
The full essay is at "Obama on Executive Power."
1. Charlie Savage, “Shift on Executive Power Lets Obama Bypass Rivals,” The New York Times, April 22, 2012.