"Presidents tend to assert their power and if Congress does not claim its duty to check and balance the executive, then the balance tilts heavily toward the executive branch. For example, the
congressional resolution authorizing the United States to respond to the al-Qaeda attacks against the United States in 2001 was applied far beyond the initial campaign in Afghanistan. It was
interpreted by George W. Bush's administration as justifying findings that the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of prisoners of war did not apply in the war on terrorism; that harsh
interrogation tactics were permissible...; and that the use of intercepts of telephone conversations between American citizens and people abroad was condoned.... When, after the Supreme
Court ruled in 2006... that the Bush administration was in fact violating the Geneva Conventions,... Congress was compelled to pass new laws on detainee treatment. Bush signed the law but
then added a separate signing statement... President Bush declared that he would implement the law in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the President to supervise the
unitary executive branch and as Commander in Chief... [in order to protect] the American people from further terrorist attacks."
Sean Kay, America's Search for Security: The Triumph of Idealism and the Return of Realism, 2014
Which of the following is likely to occur as a result when Congress refuses to act as a check on the power of the president, according to the main idea of the passage?
(A
The Supreme Court will intervene to check the power of the president.
B
The American people will vote in new members of Congress during the next election.
The president will be able to push the limits of constitutional authority.
D
Treaties, such as the Geneva Conventions, will be treated as executive agreements.