BALTIMORE, Md. — Many have voiced concerns that President-elect Donald Trump could try to push the limits of presidential power, and a Democratic lawmaker from Maryland says one way to keep that from happening is by working across the aisle in Congress and for legislators to take on tough issues themselves.
“To a certain degree, presidential powers fill vacuums because the Congress doesn’t carry out its responsibility,” said Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin. “That was clear on immigration reform, where we had a bipartisan effort, but it was blocked in the House.”
President Barack Obama later took executive action to shield many immigrants from deportation.
Cardin believes Congress can compromise, and act, on several key issues.
“I think you’re going to find Republicans in the Congress agreeing with us on that. Many had some issues with Donald Trump’s policies,” he said.
Cardin said immigration, tax reform and the budget are areas where Congress should move forward.
“The one thing I heard from both the Trump supporters and the Clinton supporters is that they want the election to be over and they want the people in Washington to do their business,” Cardin said.
Cardin also said that after listening to Trump’s heated campaign rhetoric, he will work to protect “the values of America” and constitutional rights in the next Congress.
Concerns about Trump and the Constitution were also echoed by outgoing Maryland Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski, who said she hoped Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would “talk about the constitution, the separation of powers, and that Congress is a coequal branch.”
The Republican-led Senate is expected to move to appoint a new Supreme Court justice filling a vacancy left after the death of Antonin Scalia and Congress will also work to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
