Richard Reinsch and Greg Weiner explain at National Review Online why they believe it’s time for Congress to reassert authority ceded to the president and the executive branch in recent years.
President Trump’s inability or unwillingness to lead on a legislative agenda has been cast as bad news for conservatism. But his weakness may trigger a renaissance of conservatism properly understood.
By renaissance we don’t mean an immediate batch of policy priorities — though congressional Republicans appear likely to pursue such priorities — but a long-term commitment to conserving the constitutional regime. Since James Burnham, constitutionalists have argued that Congress, the first branch of the Founders’ design, is the naturally conservative branch of government.
Republicans now have an opportunity and a responsibility to prove they are up to the task. The imperative here is constitutional, but also political. …
… Congressional Republicans can’t tie their loyalty to this president, not any longer. If they wish to preserve their majority status, they must retake the reins the Constitution gives them and be the decisive force of politics in our country. They need to announce that their method of governing is in the committee system, where legislation percolates upward through a system of deliberation and bargaining and the floor, where rank-and-file members in both parties are empowered.
