Presidential emergency powers, explained
In our constitutional system, a national emergency declaration allows the president to temporarily use certain authorities that Congress has previously approved.
January 29, 2026
Legislative & Advocacy Strategist
Elise Wirkus is a legislative & advocacy strategist at Protect Democracy, where she helps lead the organization’s federal legislative and advocacy priorities to strengthen checks and balances and forge cross-partisan coalitions and strategies. She previously served as the Legislative Director at Issue One where she led the organization’s efforts to pass the Electoral Count Reform Act and advocated for greater funding and protections for election officials. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
In our constitutional system, a national emergency declaration allows the president to temporarily use certain authorities that Congress has previously approved.
January 29, 2026
In this If You Can Keep It piece, Elise Wirkus and Aisha Woodward argue that a recent Senate hearing offers an opportunity for “bipartisan reforms to the National Emergencies Act.”
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