No person should have, and no person should have the ability to have, the power Congress and Donald Trump have given Donald Trump.
Article I of the U.S. Constitution sets forth the powers of the Congress. It is clear the Founding Fathers envisioned a much more powerful Congress, relative to the power of the Executive Branch (covered in Article II), than what now exists. That needs to change. The Balance of Powers Restoration Act aims to change it.
Teddy Roosevelt was the first major abuser, taking the position the president has the power to do anything the Constitution doesn’t specifically prohibit. Franklin Delano Roosevelt followed Teddy’s efforts by trying to pack the Supreme Court to get what he wanted. The Court flinched, and the Commerce Clause of the Constitution gained unreasonable expanse, allowing the federal government to regulate practically anything.
Donald Trump has done all he can to advance his power beyond that granted the president. Tariffs without Congressional input (that can change by the day, with his mood), are an example. Apparently, federal agencies were never anticipated by the Founding Fathers. But they exist, and they have greatly expanded the power of the Executive Branch. In 2025, the Supreme Court in its Loper Bright decision reduced agencies’ power, by taking away Chevron deference (that the Supreme Court had granted in 1984 in the Chevron case). Under Chevron deference, agencies could “fill gaps” as long as what they did was reasonable. But what happens in practice is agencies do what they want, often by making crazy interpretations of statutory law to give themselves power. The attached article tracks the case law history of an unlawful grant of power by the IRS to itself that I’ve been fighting since 2011.
The attached article explains how the IRS unlawfully created law, by twisting a statute’s language well beyond what was intended:
The Trump Administration attempted to create law with respect to tariffs, by interpreting the International Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) to give the president tariffing power Congress never granted him. On February 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down this attempt in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump.
The reality is most things agencies do are not successfully attacked in court. Generally, the only things that get challenged are those impacting large businesses and wealthy people, who can afford the legal fees, and those that can be attacked via class action or are taken on by 501(c)(3) entities such as the Institute for Justice (with which I’ve worked on PTIN matters). Anything not challenged substantively becomes law.
The Balance of Powers Restoration Act (BOPRA) is designed to place the power to make law back in the hands of Congress. It goes beyond Loper Bright by providing any prior agency act not completely consistent with a power grant by Congress is null. And if the Office of Management and Budget doesn’t timely respond to an information relief request (as I’ve experienced), the request is deemed granted. The president has the strongest power, the veto power. That’s enough.
BOPRA goes after tariffing power. The president interpreted the IEEPA to give him powers Congress never intended for him to possess, by declaring national emergencies (many of them) when none existed. See p. 60 of the attached CRS article on the topic.
As noted above, on February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s tariffs under the IEEPA. Some pre-decision articles noted if the U.S. Supreme Court did so, the president would move to other possible tariffing authorities, including section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (now codified as 19 U.S.C. §1862). Section 232 is less expedient than the IEEPA, as it requires involvement of the Secretary of Commerce and potentially up to 270 days’ delay.
While section 232 was clearly aimed at national security, there is a sentence in it that is potentially problematic. It reads: “In the administration of this section, the Secretary and the President shall further recognize the close relation of the economic welfare of our Nation to our national security . . .” The Trump Administration will drive a truck through this language. Other statutory authorities Trump might attempt to use include sections 122, 201 and 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. BOPRA addresses these matters by repealing all of these potential tariffing authorities, thus returning the power to tariff to Congress.
The capture of Nicholas Maduro of Venezuela, while having its pros and cons, was inconsistent with the War Powers Resolution, 50 U.S.C. §1541 et seq. Likewise with respect to the war with Iran. BOPRA amends the War Powers Resolution (Act) to attempt to find a balance that can work while holding the president potentially impeachable for disregarding its provisions. See the attached article regarding the possibility of regime change in Iran.
BOPRA also prohibits Congress from being paid during a government shutdown, and requires Congress to establish a shutdown rainy day fund.