
Donald Trump arrived at the US Capitol to attend the Republicans weekly policy luncheon on March 10, 2020 in Washington, DC. He is flanked by Mitch McConnell and Steve Mnuchin. (Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
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Donald Trump arrived at the US Capitol to attend the Republicans weekly policy luncheon on March 10, 2020 in Washington, DC. He is flanked by Mitch McConnell and Steve Mnuchin. (Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
With becoming the party of Trump, analysts have sought to come to terms with the political identity of today's GOP. The general consensus among mainstream pundits seems to be that the Republican Party is no longer a conservative party, but has instead become something of an authoritarian outlier. Many from the progressive and radical community, on the other hand, go even further and claim that the GOP is now a fascist party.
There is a problem with both approaches to the political identity of today's GOP. Let's examine first the claim that Trump's GOP is no longer a conservative party but, rather, an authoritarian outlier.
Even if we assume that the Republican party was a pure conservative party before Trump, which I take to be a highly dubious proposition for reasons to be explained further below, it should be pointed out then that, conservative parties, to a greater or lesser extent, have always been authoritarian. As such, to say that today's GOP has become an authoritarian outlier says very little, but also fails to capture the magnitude of the change that the Republican party has undergone since Trump's emergence on the political scene.
Indeed, lest we forget, the Republican party has been the "party of law and order" at least from the days of Barry Goldwater. And as any astute student of history will tell you, the politics of law and order (submission to authority and opposition to other groups) have always been a gateway to authoritarianism no matter the political or cultural setting. Authoritarianism and reactionism are in fact built into the fabric of conservatism.
For that matter, the Republican party has been in actuality very much a reactionary political force virtually from the early twentieth century onwards. It's history is replete with attempts to turn back the hands of time with respect to progress made on the political, social, and cultural front. Republicans have consistently adopted a reactionary orientation on race, ethnicity, and gender issues, and are fervid opponents of majority rule.
More than a decade ago, in an interview that appeared in the British political and cultural magazine The New Statesman, the brilliant and outspoken author of the "Narratives of Empire" captured rather powerfully the state of American politics at the time by saying that what you have with the Republican party is a "quasi-fascist batch" of people, "small-town enemies of everybody" who "believe in authority...in their own mind, and no-one else's."
Gore Vidal was using the above terms to refer to the reaction of Republicans to the governing of the United States--a "racist country," as he put it, that compared favorably to South Africa under apartheid--by a black president.
Neoliberalism, with its emphasis on privatization, deregulation, tax cuts for the rich, and massive attacks on workers' rights, has been the economic philosophy of the GOP before and during Trump's reign in power, and will surely continue to be so after Trump.
But that still begs the question of whether Trump's GOP is a fascist or neo-fascist party.
Fascism is a form of government in which the ruling party not only embarks on censorship and bans political opposition, but uses the state to gain indirect control of the economy, sets all prices and wages, and controls the monetary system.
Fascism's political economy does not revolve around the "free-market" system. Fascists not only nationalize certain industries, but compel the owners of those that remain in private hands to operate in accordance with the economic aims and goals of their government.
Fascism's political economy stands in sharp contrast with the prevailing economic doctrine in the United States, which is neoliberalism. To be sure, there is no evidence whatsoever that the Republican party has abandoned its belief in the "free-market" system and, in turn, plans to embrace a vision of an "organized state-capitalist economy." Neither has it become supportive of trade unions, which was very much the case with both Italian fascism and German National Socialism.
Neoliberalism, with its emphasis on privatization, deregulation, tax cuts for the rich, and massive attacks on workers' rights, has been the economic philosophy of the GOP before and during Trump's reign in power, and will surely continue to be so after Trump. Therefore, labelling the Republican party, with its pathological aversion to the idea of a strong central government steering the economy to help with development, as a fascist party is politically and ideologically fundamentally way off the mark. Republicans (like most Democrats since Clinton) carry neoliberalism in their hearts.
However, when it comes to politics, social and cultural issues, the orientation of the Republican party has been "proto-fascist" for quite a long time. By "proto-fascism," I mean an ideological orientation, a state of mind, and potentially a movement whereby the political attitudes and predispositions of its members are driven by hate, social frustration and racist tendencies, attraction for the strongman and contempt for the weak, idolization of violence and rejection of reason and the values of the Enlightenment. Fear of difference is also a trait of the "proto-fascist" frame of mind, as well as obsession with a plot and conspiracy theories in general.
America's obsession with guns, god and the flag (a uniquely American menage a trois) is in general a classic display of "proto-fascist" mentality, which is another way of saying that "proto-fascism" has been an ever present phenomenon in the nation's political culture.
Indeed, when we consider this nation's saga of imperialism and long-stemming traditions of militarism, misogyny, racism, gun culture, aversion to sex education, and police brutality, it is beyond dispute that the United States has had a long history of "proto-fascism." The difference now is that it finally has managed to put all the elements together and bring about the formation of an organized "proto-fascist" political force, but one whose economic principles remain unwaveringly committed to the dogma of neoliberal capitalism and is bent on using the government to make the rich richer while weakening further workers' bargaining power and destroying nature on the altar of profit.
In sum, the best term to use in order to capture the political identity of today's GOP is Neoliberal Proto-Fascism. And only time, and the way the powerful socio-economic and political contradictions resolve themselves in "the land of the free and the home of the brave," will tell whether the GOP in particular and the country in general will make the ultimate move by embracing fully the vision, the politics, and the economics of fascism.
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With becoming the party of Trump, analysts have sought to come to terms with the political identity of today's GOP. The general consensus among mainstream pundits seems to be that the Republican Party is no longer a conservative party, but has instead become something of an authoritarian outlier. Many from the progressive and radical community, on the other hand, go even further and claim that the GOP is now a fascist party.
There is a problem with both approaches to the political identity of today's GOP. Let's examine first the claim that Trump's GOP is no longer a conservative party but, rather, an authoritarian outlier.
Even if we assume that the Republican party was a pure conservative party before Trump, which I take to be a highly dubious proposition for reasons to be explained further below, it should be pointed out then that, conservative parties, to a greater or lesser extent, have always been authoritarian. As such, to say that today's GOP has become an authoritarian outlier says very little, but also fails to capture the magnitude of the change that the Republican party has undergone since Trump's emergence on the political scene.
Indeed, lest we forget, the Republican party has been the "party of law and order" at least from the days of Barry Goldwater. And as any astute student of history will tell you, the politics of law and order (submission to authority and opposition to other groups) have always been a gateway to authoritarianism no matter the political or cultural setting. Authoritarianism and reactionism are in fact built into the fabric of conservatism.
For that matter, the Republican party has been in actuality very much a reactionary political force virtually from the early twentieth century onwards. It's history is replete with attempts to turn back the hands of time with respect to progress made on the political, social, and cultural front. Republicans have consistently adopted a reactionary orientation on race, ethnicity, and gender issues, and are fervid opponents of majority rule.
More than a decade ago, in an interview that appeared in the British political and cultural magazine The New Statesman, the brilliant and outspoken author of the "Narratives of Empire" captured rather powerfully the state of American politics at the time by saying that what you have with the Republican party is a "quasi-fascist batch" of people, "small-town enemies of everybody" who "believe in authority...in their own mind, and no-one else's."
Gore Vidal was using the above terms to refer to the reaction of Republicans to the governing of the United States--a "racist country," as he put it, that compared favorably to South Africa under apartheid--by a black president.
Neoliberalism, with its emphasis on privatization, deregulation, tax cuts for the rich, and massive attacks on workers' rights, has been the economic philosophy of the GOP before and during Trump's reign in power, and will surely continue to be so after Trump.
But that still begs the question of whether Trump's GOP is a fascist or neo-fascist party.
Fascism is a form of government in which the ruling party not only embarks on censorship and bans political opposition, but uses the state to gain indirect control of the economy, sets all prices and wages, and controls the monetary system.
Fascism's political economy does not revolve around the "free-market" system. Fascists not only nationalize certain industries, but compel the owners of those that remain in private hands to operate in accordance with the economic aims and goals of their government.
Fascism's political economy stands in sharp contrast with the prevailing economic doctrine in the United States, which is neoliberalism. To be sure, there is no evidence whatsoever that the Republican party has abandoned its belief in the "free-market" system and, in turn, plans to embrace a vision of an "organized state-capitalist economy." Neither has it become supportive of trade unions, which was very much the case with both Italian fascism and German National Socialism.
Neoliberalism, with its emphasis on privatization, deregulation, tax cuts for the rich, and massive attacks on workers' rights, has been the economic philosophy of the GOP before and during Trump's reign in power, and will surely continue to be so after Trump. Therefore, labelling the Republican party, with its pathological aversion to the idea of a strong central government steering the economy to help with development, as a fascist party is politically and ideologically fundamentally way off the mark. Republicans (like most Democrats since Clinton) carry neoliberalism in their hearts.
However, when it comes to politics, social and cultural issues, the orientation of the Republican party has been "proto-fascist" for quite a long time. By "proto-fascism," I mean an ideological orientation, a state of mind, and potentially a movement whereby the political attitudes and predispositions of its members are driven by hate, social frustration and racist tendencies, attraction for the strongman and contempt for the weak, idolization of violence and rejection of reason and the values of the Enlightenment. Fear of difference is also a trait of the "proto-fascist" frame of mind, as well as obsession with a plot and conspiracy theories in general.
America's obsession with guns, god and the flag (a uniquely American menage a trois) is in general a classic display of "proto-fascist" mentality, which is another way of saying that "proto-fascism" has been an ever present phenomenon in the nation's political culture.
Indeed, when we consider this nation's saga of imperialism and long-stemming traditions of militarism, misogyny, racism, gun culture, aversion to sex education, and police brutality, it is beyond dispute that the United States has had a long history of "proto-fascism." The difference now is that it finally has managed to put all the elements together and bring about the formation of an organized "proto-fascist" political force, but one whose economic principles remain unwaveringly committed to the dogma of neoliberal capitalism and is bent on using the government to make the rich richer while weakening further workers' bargaining power and destroying nature on the altar of profit.
In sum, the best term to use in order to capture the political identity of today's GOP is Neoliberal Proto-Fascism. And only time, and the way the powerful socio-economic and political contradictions resolve themselves in "the land of the free and the home of the brave," will tell whether the GOP in particular and the country in general will make the ultimate move by embracing fully the vision, the politics, and the economics of fascism.
With becoming the party of Trump, analysts have sought to come to terms with the political identity of today's GOP. The general consensus among mainstream pundits seems to be that the Republican Party is no longer a conservative party, but has instead become something of an authoritarian outlier. Many from the progressive and radical community, on the other hand, go even further and claim that the GOP is now a fascist party.
There is a problem with both approaches to the political identity of today's GOP. Let's examine first the claim that Trump's GOP is no longer a conservative party but, rather, an authoritarian outlier.
Even if we assume that the Republican party was a pure conservative party before Trump, which I take to be a highly dubious proposition for reasons to be explained further below, it should be pointed out then that, conservative parties, to a greater or lesser extent, have always been authoritarian. As such, to say that today's GOP has become an authoritarian outlier says very little, but also fails to capture the magnitude of the change that the Republican party has undergone since Trump's emergence on the political scene.
Indeed, lest we forget, the Republican party has been the "party of law and order" at least from the days of Barry Goldwater. And as any astute student of history will tell you, the politics of law and order (submission to authority and opposition to other groups) have always been a gateway to authoritarianism no matter the political or cultural setting. Authoritarianism and reactionism are in fact built into the fabric of conservatism.
For that matter, the Republican party has been in actuality very much a reactionary political force virtually from the early twentieth century onwards. It's history is replete with attempts to turn back the hands of time with respect to progress made on the political, social, and cultural front. Republicans have consistently adopted a reactionary orientation on race, ethnicity, and gender issues, and are fervid opponents of majority rule.
More than a decade ago, in an interview that appeared in the British political and cultural magazine The New Statesman, the brilliant and outspoken author of the "Narratives of Empire" captured rather powerfully the state of American politics at the time by saying that what you have with the Republican party is a "quasi-fascist batch" of people, "small-town enemies of everybody" who "believe in authority...in their own mind, and no-one else's."
Gore Vidal was using the above terms to refer to the reaction of Republicans to the governing of the United States--a "racist country," as he put it, that compared favorably to South Africa under apartheid--by a black president.
Neoliberalism, with its emphasis on privatization, deregulation, tax cuts for the rich, and massive attacks on workers' rights, has been the economic philosophy of the GOP before and during Trump's reign in power, and will surely continue to be so after Trump.
But that still begs the question of whether Trump's GOP is a fascist or neo-fascist party.
Fascism is a form of government in which the ruling party not only embarks on censorship and bans political opposition, but uses the state to gain indirect control of the economy, sets all prices and wages, and controls the monetary system.
Fascism's political economy does not revolve around the "free-market" system. Fascists not only nationalize certain industries, but compel the owners of those that remain in private hands to operate in accordance with the economic aims and goals of their government.
Fascism's political economy stands in sharp contrast with the prevailing economic doctrine in the United States, which is neoliberalism. To be sure, there is no evidence whatsoever that the Republican party has abandoned its belief in the "free-market" system and, in turn, plans to embrace a vision of an "organized state-capitalist economy." Neither has it become supportive of trade unions, which was very much the case with both Italian fascism and German National Socialism.
Neoliberalism, with its emphasis on privatization, deregulation, tax cuts for the rich, and massive attacks on workers' rights, has been the economic philosophy of the GOP before and during Trump's reign in power, and will surely continue to be so after Trump. Therefore, labelling the Republican party, with its pathological aversion to the idea of a strong central government steering the economy to help with development, as a fascist party is politically and ideologically fundamentally way off the mark. Republicans (like most Democrats since Clinton) carry neoliberalism in their hearts.
However, when it comes to politics, social and cultural issues, the orientation of the Republican party has been "proto-fascist" for quite a long time. By "proto-fascism," I mean an ideological orientation, a state of mind, and potentially a movement whereby the political attitudes and predispositions of its members are driven by hate, social frustration and racist tendencies, attraction for the strongman and contempt for the weak, idolization of violence and rejection of reason and the values of the Enlightenment. Fear of difference is also a trait of the "proto-fascist" frame of mind, as well as obsession with a plot and conspiracy theories in general.
America's obsession with guns, god and the flag (a uniquely American menage a trois) is in general a classic display of "proto-fascist" mentality, which is another way of saying that "proto-fascism" has been an ever present phenomenon in the nation's political culture.
Indeed, when we consider this nation's saga of imperialism and long-stemming traditions of militarism, misogyny, racism, gun culture, aversion to sex education, and police brutality, it is beyond dispute that the United States has had a long history of "proto-fascism." The difference now is that it finally has managed to put all the elements together and bring about the formation of an organized "proto-fascist" political force, but one whose economic principles remain unwaveringly committed to the dogma of neoliberal capitalism and is bent on using the government to make the rich richer while weakening further workers' bargaining power and destroying nature on the altar of profit.
In sum, the best term to use in order to capture the political identity of today's GOP is Neoliberal Proto-Fascism. And only time, and the way the powerful socio-economic and political contradictions resolve themselves in "the land of the free and the home of the brave," will tell whether the GOP in particular and the country in general will make the ultimate move by embracing fully the vision, the politics, and the economics of fascism.
Their "astonishing, powerful op-ed," said one professor, "drives home what we are losing and what's already been lost."
Nearly every living former director or acting director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from the past half-century took to the pages of The New York Times on Monday to jointly argue that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "is endangering every American's health."
"Collectively, we spent more than 100 years working at the CDC, the world's preeminent public health agency. We served under multiple Republican and Democratic administrations," Drs. William Foege, William Roper, David Satcher, Jeffrey Koplan, Richard Besser, Tom Frieden, Anne Schuchat, Rochelle Walensky, and Mandy Cohen highlighted.
What RFK Jr. "has done to the CDC and to our nation's public health system over the past several months—culminating in his decision to fire Dr. Susan Monarez as CDC director days ago—is unlike anything we have ever seen at the agency, and unlike anything our country has ever experienced," the nine former agency leaders wrote.
Known for spreading misinformation about vaccines and a series of scandals, Kennedy was a controversial figure long before President Donald Trump chose him to lead HHS—a decision that Senate Republicans affirmed in February. However, in the wake of Monarez's ouster, fresh calls for him to resign or be fired have mounted.
This is powerful. Nine former CDC leaders just came together to defend SCIENCE.Maybe it’s time we LISTEN TO THEM—not the loud voices spreading MISINFORMATION.Science saves lives. Lies cost themwww.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...
[image or embed]
— Krutika Kuppalli, MD FIDSA (@krutikakuppalli.bsky.social) September 1, 2025 at 10:35 AM
As the ex-directors detailed:
Secretary Kennedy has fired thousands of federal health workers and severely weakened programs designed to protect Americans from cancer, heart attacks, strokes, lead poisoning, injury, violence, and more. Amid the largest measles outbreak in the United States in a generation, he's focused on unproven "treatments" while downplaying vaccines. He canceled investments in promising medical research that will leave us ill-prepared for future health emergencies. He replaced experts on federal health advisory committees with unqualified individuals who share his dangerous and unscientific views. He announced the end of US support for global vaccination programs that protect millions of children and keep Americans safe, citing flawed research and making inaccurate statements. And he championed federal legislation that will cause millions of people with health insurance through Medicaid to lose their coverage. Firing Dr. Monarez—which led to the resignations of top CDC officials—adds considerable fuel to this raging fire.
Monarez was nominated by Trump, and was confirmed by Senate Republicans in late July. As the op-ed authors noted, she was forced out by RFK Jr. just weeks later, after she reportedly refused "to rubber-stamp his dangerous and unfounded vaccine recommendations or heed his demand to fire senior CDC staff members."
"These are not typical requests from a health secretary to a CDC director," they wrote. "Not even close. None of us would have agreed to the secretary's demands, and we applaud Dr. Monarez for standing up for the agency and the health of our communities."
After Monarez's exit, Trump tapped Jim O'Neill, an RFK Jr. aide and biotech investor, as the CDC's interim director. Critics including Robert Steinbrook, director of Public Citizen's health research group, warn that "unlike Susan Monarez, O'Neill is likely to rubber-stamp dangerous vaccine recommendations from HHS Secretary Kennedy's handpicked appointees to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and obey orders to fire CDC public health experts with scientific integrity."
The agency's former directors didn't address O'Neill, but they wrote: "To those on the CDC staff who continue to perform their jobs heroically in the face of the excruciating circumstances, we offer our sincere thanks and appreciation. Their ongoing dedication is a model for all of us. But it's clear that the agency is hurting badly."
"We have a message for the rest of the nation as well: This is a time to rally to protect the health of every American," they continued. The experts called on Congress to "exercise its oversight authority over HHS," and state and local governments to "fill funding gaps where they can." They also urged philanthropy, the private sector, medical groups, and physicians to boost investments, "continue to stand up for science and truth," and support patients "with sound guidance and empathy."
Doctors, researchers, journalists, and others called their "must-read" piece "extraordinary" and "important."
"Just an astonishing, powerful op-ed that drives home what we are losing and what's already been lost," said University of Michigan Law School professor Leah Litman. "We are so incredibly fortunate to live with the advances [of] modern medicine and health science. Destroying and stymying it is just unforgivable."
"This is a government that is by, and for, the CEOs and billionaires," said AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler.
Although US President Donald Trump's administration likes to boast that he puts "American workers first," several news reports published on Monday document the president's attacks on the rights of working people and labor unions.
As longtime labor reporter Steven Greenhouse explained in The Guardian, Trump throughout his second term has "taken dozens of actions that hurt workers, often by cutting their pay or making their jobs more dangerous."
Among other things, Greenhouse cited Trump's decision to halt a regulation intended to protect coal miners from lung disease, as well as his decision to strip a million federal workers of their collective bargaining rights.
Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, told Greenhouse that Trump's actions amount to a "big betrayal" of his promises to look out for US workers during the 2024 presidential campaign.
"His attacks on unions are coming fast and furious," she said. "He talks a good game of being for working people, but he's doing the absolute opposite. This is a government that is by, and for, the CEOs and billionaires."
Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute, similarly told Greenhouse that Trump has been "absolutely, brazenly anti-worker," and she cited him ripping away an increase in the minimum wage for federal contractors that had been enacted by former President Joe Biden as a prime example.
"The minimum wage is incredibly popular," she said. "He just took away the minimum wage from hundreds of thousands of workers. That blew my mind."
NPR published its own Labor Day report that zeroed in on how the president is "decimating" federal employee unions by issuing March and August executive orders stripping them of the power to collectively bargain for better working conditions.
So far, nine federal agencies have canceled their union contracts as a result of the orders, which are based on a provision in federal law that gives the president the power to terminate collective bargaining at agencies that are primarily involved with national security.
The Trump administration has embraced a maximalist interpretation of this power and has demanded the end of collective bargaining at departments that aren't primarily known as national security agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Weather Service.
However, Trump's attacks on organized labor haven't completely intimidated government workers from joining unions. As the Los Angeles Times reported, the Trump administration's cuts to the National Park Service earlier this year inspired hundreds of workers at the California-based Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon national parks to unionize.
Although labor organizers had been trying unsuccessfully for years to get park workers to sign on, that changed when the Trump administration took a hatchet to parks' budgets and enacted mass layoffs.
"More than 97% of employees at Yosemite and Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks who cast ballots voted to unionize, with results certified last week," wrote the Los Angeles Times. "More than 600 staffers—including interpretive park rangers, biologists, firefighters, and fee collectors—are now represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees."
Even so, many workers who succeed in forming unions may no longer get their grievances heard given the state of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
As documented by Timothy Noah in The New Republic, the NLRB is now "hanging by a thread" in the wake of a court ruling that declared the board's structure to be unconstitutional because it barred the president from being able to fire NLRB administrative judges at will.
"The ruling doesn't shut down the NLRB entirely because it applies only to cases in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, where the 5th Circuit has jurisdiction," Noah explained. "But Jennifer Abruzzo, who was President Joe Biden's NLRB general counsel, told me that the decision will 'open the floodgates for employers to forum-shop and seek to get injunctions' in those three states."
Noah noted that this lawsuit was brought in part by SpaceX owner and one-time Trump ally Elon Musk, and he accused the Trump NLRB of waging a "half-hearted" fight against Musk's attack on workers' rights.
Thanks to Trump and Musk's actions, Noah concluded, American oligarchs "can toast the NLRB's imminent destruction."
"The Constitution gives this authority to the states and Congress, not you!" said the head of Democracy Defenders Fund, threatening a lawsuit.
US President Donald Trump continued his "authoritarian takeover of our election system" over the weekend, threatening an executive order requiring every voter to present identification, which experts swiftly denounced as clearly "unconstitutional."
"Voter I.D. Must Be Part of Every Single Vote. NO EXCEPTIONS!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform late Saturday. "I Will Be Doing An Executive Order To That End!!! Also, No Mail-In Voting, Except For Those That Are Very Ill, And The Far Away Military. USE PAPER BALLOTS ONLY!!!"
Less than two weeks ago, Trump declared on the platform that "I am going to lead a movement to get rid of MAIL-IN BALLOTS, and also, while we're at it, Highly 'Inaccurate,' Very Expensive, and Seriously Controversial VOTING MACHINES." He claimed, without evidence, that voting by mail leads to "MASSIVE VOTER FRAUD," and promised to take executive action ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Those posts came as battles over his March executive order (EO), "Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections," are playing out in federal court. The measure was largely blocked by multiple district judges, but the president is appealing.
Trump's voter ID post provoked a new threat of legal action to stop his unconstitutional attacks on the nation's election system.
"Go ahead, make my day Mr. Trump," said Norm Eisen, who co-founded Democracy Defenders Fund and served as White House special counsel for ethics and government reform during the Obama administration.
"We at Democracy Defenders Fund immediately sued you and got an injunction on your first voting EO," he noted. "We will do the same here if you try it again. The Constitution gives this authority to the states and Congress, not you!"
In addition to pointing out that Trump is "an absentee voter himself," Democracy Docket explained Sunday that "the US Constitution gives the states the primary authority to regulate elections, while empowering Congress to 'at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations.' The Framers never considered authorizing the president to oversee elections."
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures: "Thirty-six states have laws requesting or requiring voters to show some form of identification at the polls. The remaining 14 states and Washington, DC use other methods to verify the identity of voters."
Those laws already prevent Americans from participating in elections, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.
"Overly burdensome photo ID requirements block millions of eligible American citizens from voting," the center's voter ID webpage says. "As many as 11% of eligible voters do not have the kind of ID that is required by states with strict ID requirements, and that percentage is even higher among seniors, minorities, people with disabilities, low-income voters, and students."