The whole room erupted in laughter. When it quieted, McDonnell responded, “It’s Congress.”

Martha the teacher then gave a brief lesson on the presidential use of special powers. I knew a bit about it, having done background research when Trump claimed his emergency powers allowed him to build his wall. “The powers of POTUS to take affirmative actions during a crisis have never been completely defined or expressively limited, either by constitutional law or congressional action.” She was standing in the middle of the room, turning slowly so we all could hear her. “In fact, no one has been able to even define what constitutes a crisis. Congress and the judiciary have invariably permitted the executive branch to take whatever actions unilaterally deemed necessary to meet existing conditions…” She coughed, a dramatic tool, then added, “… without restraint. In fact, those powers might be viewed as elastic, as they have been stretched by various administrations to meet a variety of real and imagined challenges.

“Let me also remind you that in addition to government cooperation the exercise of these powers has required the acquiescence of a supportive public, which accepts the actions to be both necessary and appropriate to protect this country.” She made one full turn to make sure she had the attention of every person in that room. “If we’re going to stop Wrightman, this is where we need to start.”

Her lesson continued; the application of these special powers actually predated the founding of the republic. The Continental Congress passed acts and resolutions that permitted the nascent government to successfully prosecute the Revolutionary War. President Washington took actions not granted or proscribed when he raised a militia to combat antitax protestors. It actually was quite similar to the way Wrightman had done it. “Whoever is advising him,” she said, nodding with admiration, “they know what they’re doing.”

Martha was no slouch, either. She knew her stuff. When Lincoln had utilized his presidential powers to quash dissent during the Civil War, the Supreme Court had decided that “the government, within the Constitution has all the powers granted to it which are necessary to preserve its existence.”

The list was much longer than I had realized. Woody Wilson had used these powers to raise and equip an expeditionary force to fight the Germans in World War I. FDR had discovered unexpressed powers to impose economic controls during the Depression and later intern American citizens of Japanese descent after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Harry Truman sent troops to Korea; Kennedy and Johnson sent them to Vietnam. Ronald Reagan gave permission to the National Security Agency to conduct domestic surveillance. And Wrightman had already begun, updating existing Executive Orders 12333 and 10990, which gave the president the power to seize control of modes of transportation, including “railroads, waterways, and public storage facilities” to include “driverless vehicles and all modes of transportation known now or to be invented in the future.”

There was hardly a sound in the room as she told us what was possible. And when these actions had been taken in the past, most Americans, just as was happening now, accepted them without complaint. “A nation of squeakless mice,” she called them. Martha concluded her lecture with an especially apropos quote from Richard Nixon’s White House lawyer, John Dean. “‘Democracy works best in times of peace, where there is debate, compromise, and deliberation informing government rules, regulations and policies. When confronted with a major crisis—particularly one that is, like terrorism, of an unfamiliar nature—the nation will turn to the president for initiative and resolute leadership.’” She raised her voice to make sure everybody heard the last few words. “‘If our very existence and way of life are threatened, Americans will want their president to do whatever is necessary.’ Just think about that.” Martha certainly had mastered the political skill of holding an audience. “‘To do whatever is necessary.’”