Charlie Lockett: Congress’s job isn’t supposed to be Trump’s janitorial service
As I watched this latest shutdown, I repeatedly saw the Republican leadership say they couldn’t move forward because they didn’t know what the president wanted. I watched the minority leader have a private lunch to negotiate with the president for a compromise.
This might shock many of you folks to learn, but Congress works for the people – not the president. It is the job of the Congress to legislate. That means to write laws and then send those laws to the president. If the president agrees, he can sign it; if not, he can veto it. Then the Congress has the job of either letting his veto stand, or voting to override it with a two-thirds vote.
I see Republicans trying to destroy and discredit the finest law-enforcement agency in the world in order to cater to – and maybe even save – this president. This is unheard of and should not be allowed to continue.
Article 1 of the Constitution gives the Congress a great deal of power, so much so as to put it equal to the power of the presidency. In fact, that is what Congress is meant to be – equal to the president.
Charlie Lockett, Modesto
This story was originally published January 29, 2018 at 1:06 PM with the headline "Charlie Lockett: Congress’s job isn’t supposed to be Trump’s janitorial service."