Normalizing Emergencies - Yale Journal of Regulation
Journal Article: Normalizing Emergencies
Journal: Yale Journal of Regulation
Date of Publication: 06 February 2025
Author: Brandon J. Johnson, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Nebraska College of Law
How to Cite: Johnson, Brandon J., 06 February 2025, Normalizing Emergencies, Yale Journal of Regulation Blog, https://www.yalejreg.com/nc/normalizing-emergencies-by-brandon-j-johnson/
Introduction: In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, a flurry of executive orders and memoranda has once again brought the concept of “national emergency” to the forefront of American governance. Within hours of taking office, the administration declared a “national emergency at the southern border,” villainized immigration, and raised the specter of a “border emergency” vaguely connected with a threat of “foreign terrorist organizations.” At first glance, these actions might resemble a continuation of tactics from Trump’s previous term, especially his 2019 declaration of a national emergency at the border. On closer inspection, however, the administration’s actions stretch well beyond traditional emergency contexts of national security or foreign policy, seeping into what were once ordinary spheres of domestic governance. Two separate executive orders, for example, both announce the existence of a “national energy emergency” and instruct relevant agencies to address the “emergency.” A separate presidential memorandum directed federal agencies to “deliver emergency price relief” by taking actions to reduce costs of housing, food, and fuel.
Although the United States has long granted its presidents statutory authority to respond to genuine crises, there is something distinctly unsettling about how routine policy matters are now cloaked in the language of imminent threat. The events surrounding the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot cast these developments in an especially ominous light. That episode, viewed by many as an attempted coup, could have been followed by a definitive repudiation of the perpetrators’ methods. Instead, it has been recast by President Trump as a “day of love,” and those once labeled insurrectionists have been rebranded as “patriots” and pardoned en masse. A failed coup, seemingly discredited at the time, has now been reframed; its leader returned to office through legal means, and the machinery of American government is being galvanized by a constant drumbeat of declared emergencies.
The full text of this Notice & Comment is available on the Yale Journal of Regulation website, here.
