U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher says Congress has ceded too much power to the president

Haley BeMiller | Green Bay Press-Gazette

ASHWAUBENON - On the heels of a scathing editorial that described Congress as "toothless," U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher said Wednesday that the president has too much power in today's politics.

The Green Bay Republican spoke to a crowd of roughly 40 people during a town hall at the Ashwaubenon Community Center, lamenting that politics has become "presidentially focused." Congress has ceded much of its power to the executive branch, he said, resulting in government that operates on autopilot.

"That works out well for you if you happen to agree with the person who occupies the White House," he said.

Gallagher noted that many conservatives were unhappy when President Barack Obama issued executive orders, but may be more content with President Donald Trump doing the same. But he contends no one should be satisfied with a system in which presidents frequently bypass Congress.

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"Americans shouldn't be happy that everything's being done through executive order because that reflects a failure of the legislature to pass clear and coherent laws and to jealously guard its authority," he said.

Gallagher, who was reelected for a second term in Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District, made waves over the past week with an editorial in The Atlantic outlining proposals he argues will make Congress more productive.

House Republicans last week voted down one of those ideas, a proposal to allow members of most committees to choose their leaders.

Gallagher told the Press-Gazette Wednesday that there was a robust debate of the issue, but those in leadership ultimately didn't approve and everyone mobilized against it. Still, he plans to continue pushing his ideas, and he believes Congress will eventually become wise to the public's "growing demand" for change.

"It's insane," he said, "because every two years people run and they inveigh against Congress being broken and mired in gridlock and yet we continue to do things the same way."