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Each week, our country\\u2019s response to the novel coronavirus pandemic presents new questions. Some of those questions are about the role of the president in a crisis, or the role of governors and local leaders, or the role of international organizations, or even the role of Congress. This particular week raised questions about all of those things.

President Trump early in the week said that he has\\u201ctotal authority\\u201d to order the reopening of state\\u2019s economies. Though, on a call with governors Thursday, Trump told them,\\u201cYou\\u2019re going to call your own shots\\u201d and later released new guidance that didn\\u2019t lay out a specific timeline for relaxing social distancing restrictions.

Also this week, the administration announced plans to freeze funding to the World Health Organization pending an investigation into their handling of the coronavirus crisis.

Finally, at a news conference midweek, Trump threatened to force Congress to adjourn so he could fill some vacant positions in his administration without Senate approval.

Together, these three moments illustrate a president suggesting ways to exercise increased power and limit the checks on his authority.

On this episode of\\u201cCan He Do That?\\u201d we answer key questions about where the president\\u2019s power begins and ends in a time of crisis, with reporting from Post foreign affairs reporter Emily Rauhala and insight from Claire Finkelstein, law professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and director of the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law.

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