The Honorable William P. Barr<br />Attorney General<br />U.S. Department of Justice<br />950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW<br />Washington, DC 20530<br /><br />Dear Attorney General Barr:<br />In recent days and weeks, President Trump has repeatedly suggested he may use<br />unspecified emergency powers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 12, for<br />example, that he told reporters that he has “the right to do a lot of things that people don’t even<br />know about,” including “a lot of emergency actions that I can take.”<br />1 On March 16, he claimed<br />to have “very strong emergency powers” that could be used to close the southern and northern<br />borders of the United States.2 During an April 14 press briefing, the President asserted “total”<br />authority to force state and local governments to rescind public health measures.3 When<br />challenged about his claims, President Trump said his Administration would “write up papers” or<br />a “legal brief” justifying these positions.4