If the governors have the authority to re-open up their states, why didn't they have the authority to shut them down?

[RandomPoster]

If the governors have the authority to re-open their states, why didn't they have the authority to shut them down?

 

[kyzr]

They do have the authority. That's why the businesses that remain open vary so much state to state.

 

[MarathonMike]

If the governors have the authority to re-open their states, why didn't they have the authority to shut them down?

Oh that's so easy! ORANGE MAN BAD

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

If the governors have the authority to re-open their states, why didn't they have the authority to shut them down?

Uhh..they did. Because the guy at the top (Trump) didn't provide the leadership or the action points to direct them to shut down. So governors, mayors, and business leaders did that themselves.
Keep digging. You'll find that scapegoat soon...

 

[KGB]

If the governors have the authority to re-open their states, why didn't they have the authority to shut them down?

Uhh..they did. Because the guy at the top (Trump) didn't provide the leadership or the action points to direct them to shut down. So governors, mayors, and business leaders did that themselves.
Keep digging. You'll find that scapegoat soon...

no because there is nothing in the Constitution that grants the President the power to shut down the country. That power doesn’t exist. It’s not a question of delegation, it just doesn’t exist. See the 10th Amendment...

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

If the governors have the authority to re-open their states, why didn't they have the authority to shut them down?

Uhh..they did. Because the guy at the top (Trump) didn't provide the leadership or the action points to direct them to shut down. So governors, mayors, and business leaders did that themselves.
Keep digging. You'll find that scapegoat soon...

no because there is nothing in the Constitution that grants the President the power to shut down the country. That power doesn’t exist. It’s not a question of delegation, it just doesn’t exist. See the 10th Amendment...

No..but he's just the defacto leader. Who has power over federal agencies to take action. He's the guy that gets classified briefings...except that he's just too fucking stupid and has too short of an attention span to pay any mind to...eh...you know where I'm going with this. Your boy fucked up. And you're trying like hell to tread the water to deflect blame from him. Face it. He doesn't know how government functions, therefore, he's reduced to gathering advice from the worst of the worst he's surrounded himself with.

 

[toobfreak]

If the governors have the authority to re-open their states, why didn't they have the authority to shut them down?

Therein lies the rub, RP. If it is up to the governors to reopen their states, whatever the stopped them from closing them back in January?

 

[toobfreak]

If the governors have the authority to re-open their states, why didn't they have the authority to shut them down?

Uhh..they did. Because the guy at the top (Trump) didn't provide the leadership or the action points to direct them to shut down.

Funny you can make such a shabby claim considering that when he provided them the leadership and action points to start opening up, they said: WAIT A MINUTE BUB! STATE'S MATTERS!

And now they are opening up pretty much within a week of Trump's original plans anyway.

 

[Nostra]

Cuomo still hasn’t shut down his subway trains of death.

 

[KGB]

If the governors have the authority to re-open their states, why didn't they have the authority to shut them down?

Uhh..they did. Because the guy at the top (Trump) didn't provide the leadership or the action points to direct them to shut down. So governors, mayors, and business leaders did that themselves.
Keep digging. You'll find that scapegoat soon...

no because there is nothing in the Constitution that grants the President the power to shut down the country. That power doesn’t exist. It’s not a question of delegation, it just doesn’t exist. See the 10th Amendment...

No..but he's just the defacto leader. Who has power over federal agencies to take action. He's the guy that gets classified briefings...except that he's just too fucking stupid and has too short of an attention span to pay any mind to...eh...you know where I'm going with this. Your boy fucked up. And you're trying like hell to tread the water to deflect blame from him. Face it. He doesn't know how government functions, therefore, he's reduced to gathering advice from the worst of the worst he's surrounded himself with.

You don't understand how our Constitutional system works. Trump doesn't have the authority to shut down the country. Period, end of story. No President does. It's a Constitutional fact. Here's why genius, it's called the 10th Amendment:

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Since you are slow, I'm going to walk you through this. Power in our country is derived from the People, not the State. That means all power is initiated through the People. That's why the 10th Amendment is worded the way it is. "Powers not delegated to the United States" is the phrase. It says it right there. It lays down clear intent. The US Government has to get the permission from the People to operate. That permission slip is called the US Constitution. The states are bound to the Constitution through the Supremacy Clause. They can't make laws which violate the Constitution.

Now that we have established how power flows, let's get back to the topic at hand. People have said, "what about martial law"? They aren't using the term correctly. Martial law occurs when civilian law breaks down & the military has to take over. Have we seen a breakdown of civilian law? Are not all levels of government still operating? And besides, there is this little thing known as Posse Comitatus, which forbids the US Government from using the US military to enforce domestic policies inside the US. The states can use their respective National Guard units to do law enforcement in their states, but the federal government can not use the active duty military to enforce a nation-wide lockdown. It is Constitutionally impossible. And if the federal government thought states were using National Guards inappropriately, the President could simply activate them on federal orders & have them stand down. But at that point, Posse Comitatus kicks in for those units.

The only federal police agencies out there are FBI, DEA, ATF, etc. State & local police are bound to their local jurisdictions, not to Washington DC. So, putting aside for the moment these Constitutional limits, let's say Trump did want to do a national lock down. Where is he going to get the man power to enforce it? Those federal law enforcement agencies aren't enough & he can't use the military. So, no, he doesn't have the authority & that's why he deferred to the governors per the 10th Amendment. Not all states are going through what New York has experienced, so it makes no sense to do a one-size fits all approach.

 

[easyt65]

If the governors have the authority to re-open their states, why didn't they have the authority to shut them down?

Depends what you mean by 'shut them down'. US AG Barr made it clear that local / state / federal governments have extremely limited authority to order / enforce mandates that violate / restrict Constitutional Rights. To do so - and only incases of dire emergencies - there must be strict justification for doing so, every other option to achieve the goals must be taken 1st, and the suspension / restriction of rights must be TEMPORARY,

Case in point: The DOJ stated it will stand behind churches suing local / state governments ending / fining Drive-in Church service in many cases because driving up in separate care to hear a sermon did NOT violate the 'Social Distancing' Mandates issued. (One idiot politician got angry at the push-back from churches and went back to the legislation, altered it, and added the targeting of that church by name.)

Mayor and governors DID have the authority to declare emergencies, order 'marshal laws', 'stay at home' orders, curfews, etc....but they have to have a very specific /real emergency, a comprehensive plan to deal with it, specific goals they seek to achieve by using such tools / mandates (curfews, 'stay-at-home' orders, etc...), and they need to have a realistic timeline for when they expect / plan for it to end....

And they need to communicate all of that to their people or they could face the growing push-backs / protests we are seeing now.,