The ‘Emergency Powers’ Risk of a Second Trump Presidency

The piece argues that a future Trump administration could exploit broad U.S. presidential emergency powers—via the National Emergencies Act, Communications Act of 1934, and IEEPA—to censor or shut down parts of the internet, freeze bank accounts, restrict transportation, and leverage an already expansive surveillance apparatus against perceived opponents, with limited checks from other branches. Legal expert Elizabeth Goitein emphasizes that existing surveillance authorities are already powerful and that the emergency powers framework lacks sufficient safeguards and balances, raising risks of authoritarian abuse.