A quick explanation bc there is genuine & disingenuous confusion about Trump tweeting "BACK TO WORK." UK's Boris Johnson ordered a nationwide lockdown: an order that you must shelter in place, only go out for 4 reasons, police will enforce. Could Trump do a reverse-version? 1/
No. The American federal constitution provides no inherent (implied) authority to the President to command any such thing to the public (nor is there any textual provision). Could the President cite a federal law and then enforce that law? No. There is no "Go Back To Work Law" 2/
that allows the President to order the states to reverse their shelter-in-place orders. States and local govts can do this under what's called the "police power" politico.com/news/magazine/… which is broad, 3/
but not so broad that these orders might not raise constitutional issues of their own: nyti.ms/39cWr17 The federal government cannot "commandeer" or force the states to do things under the SCOTUS's view of the Tenth Amendment. 4/
So the President unlike UK's Johnson, can't announce on TV that he's ordering Americans to go back to work and that the police (if we're taking this hypo to its full absurdity) would come around and fine/arrest people who wouldn't comply. That's not the way it works here. 5/
OF COURSE, the President's tweets matter: If Trump's message is that coronavirus is under control (it's not) and you should just go back to normal life (you shouldn't for now), then it gives support to noncompliance with state and local orders. And *that* is indeed a problem. 6/
Nothing here is profound or controversial-just ask your neighborhood law professor! But: it's important for people not to be confused and needlessly panicked about these basic principles. TY for listening. End/
