imperial presidency

noun

(sometimes initial capital letters)

1. a U.S. presidency that is characterized by greater power than the Constitution allows.

Word History and Origins

Origin of imperial presidency¹

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

That principle has been eroding for generations as the imperial presidency has encroached on Congress.

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This isn’t because the founders wanted an imperial presidency.

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But they took away not the standard lesson of the time—the dangers of an “imperial presidency”—but rather its opposite: a distrust of legislative power and a felt need to expand executive-branch power.

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“After Watergate, President Ford said there was an imperiled president, not an imperial presidency,” said presidential historian Robert Dallek.

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Maybe more importantly, a weak Congress paired with what historian Arthur Schlesinger called the “Imperial Presidency” is a recipe for an unaccountable president, running wild without the constitutionally provided oversight and checks on power that the founders provided to the people through their representation by the first branch of government.

Read more on Salon