EDITORIAL: U.S. must be nation of laws

July 21--Donald Trump famously is contemptuous of the norms of Washington politics and its tribal customs. It's a big part of the reason that he was elected president -- his base shares his views.

But in recent days the president has displayed a contempt for his own constitutional duties and the law that is far more troubling.

After Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell failed on four separate attempts to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act, Trump said he likely would "let Obamacare fail,"even though doing so would adversely affect health care access for about 32 million Americans, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The ACA has been federal law since 2010, and Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution says that the president "shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed."

Then, in a rambling interview with The New York Times, Trump said he would not have appointed Attorney General Jeff Sessions had he known that Sessions would recuse himself from the ongoing investigation into the Trump campaign's relationships with Russians who meddled in the presidential election.

But Sessions had no choice. He recused himself after misleading his former Senate colleagues about his own contacts with Russians.

Trump also darkly stated that Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who heads the investigation, should not examine Trump's personnel or business finances. Those finances clearly are a matter of interest in the Russian matter.

This isn't an issue of politics or personality. It's about the rule of law, regardless of who occupies the White House. Trump should embrace it as his duty to the nation.

___

(c)2017 The Times-Tribune (Scranton, Pa.)

Visit The Times-Tribune (Scranton, Pa.) at thetimes-tribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.