Timeline for What happens when Congress violates the Constitution through inaction?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
16 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 6 at 18:05 | comment | added | Barmar | @phoog Indeed. As I stated in my own answer, there's no check on Congress by other branches analogous to the impeachment power over POTUS and SCOTUS. | |
| Mar 6 at 18:05 | comment | added | tuskiomi | I don't know, I don't think the option has ever been seriously considered. They can be removed one-by-one. | |
| Mar 6 at 18:04 | comment | added | phoog | @Barmar you could indeed impeach the entire membership of the court, however, at least in theory. | |
| Mar 6 at 18:03 | comment | added | Barmar | @tuskiomi You can't impeach the whole court, can you? You impeach specific members who have not exhibited "good behavior". | |
| Mar 6 at 18:03 | comment | added | phoog | @tuskiomi but the constitution does not specify that "inaction" constitutes a breach of "good behavior." That is for congress to decide in each case. | |
| Mar 6 at 17:57 | comment | added | tuskiomi | @Barmar the constitution says (A3, S1) "The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour," Quite simply, they lose their seat. This is done using the same process for POTUS and VPOTUS, which uses the same wording "shall be removed from Office" (A2, S4), and is conducted via the impeachment process. | |
| Mar 6 at 17:23 | comment | added | Barmar | @tuskiomi What does the Constitution say happens if SCOTUS refuses to hear or rule on any cases? | |
| Mar 6 at 17:20 | comment | added | Justin Cave | @tuskiomi - But the other two branches do not have explicit remedies for failure to act. POTUS can be impeached for "high crimes and misdemeanors". You could argue that failing to "faithfully execute" a law was a "high crime". But there are an awful lot of laws and a limited amount of resources and determining how to prioritize enforcement is an inherent power of the presidency. There is a pretty strong case that the remedy for a POTUS failing to do something is similarly to replace them in the next election. | |
| Mar 6 at 17:20 | comment | added | Barmar | @tuskiomi There's no procedure for sanctioning the entire SCOTUS, just impeaching them individually. The analogous process for expelling Congress members is expulsion by a vote of 2/3 of their house. | |
| Mar 6 at 17:09 | comment | added | tuskiomi | @Barmar It does though. Especially when the other 2 enumerated branches are explicit. note that it's fine if there is no remedy, but if the other branches have these remedies explicitly stated, and congress does not, then congress does not have such a remedy. Reading between the lines is not an authoritative source. | |
| Mar 6 at 17:05 | comment | added | Barmar | @tuskiomi It doesn't have to be laid out specifically, it's inherent in the they have to be re-elected to stay in office. However, there's no method to sanction Congress in general. Individual members can be removed by the rest of that house, though. | |
| Mar 6 at 16:56 | comment | added | tuskiomi | No- where does it say that election is the process to remove members of congress who fail to carry out the duties charged on them? Keep in mind, that in OP's post, the remedies that were named for SCOTUS and POTUS are explicitly named in the constitution as remedies. I want to know where the constitution says voting out congressional members is a remedy for failing to carry out duties. | |
| Mar 6 at 16:42 | comment | added | Justin Cave | @tuskiomi - Where in the Constitution is the process of elections laid out? Article 1 Section 2 (House) and Section 3 (Senate). If you don't like what your representative or senator is doing (or not doing), you vote for someone else. | |
| Mar 6 at 16:29 | comment | added | tuskiomi | "The recourse for a failure by Congress to act is elections." where in the constitution is this laid out? I think this is emergent, and this conclusion was jumped to. | |
| Mar 5 at 20:08 | history | edited | Justin Cave | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
added 87 characters in body
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| Mar 5 at 16:06 | history | answered | Justin Cave | CC BY-SA 4.0 |