Grover Cleveland Quotes

Legislative power is always superior to the executive.

... the opinion of the Supreme Court ... ought not to control the co-ordinate authorities of this Government. The Congress, the Executive, and the Court, must each be guided by its own opinion of the constitution.

The Founders of this Nation entrusted the lawmaking power to the Congress alone in both good and bad times … the President's power to see that the laws are faithfully executed refutes the idea that he is to be a law-maker.

When Congress consents to the Executive making the budget it will have surrendered the most important part of a representative government.

Separation of powers means that the president cannot control Congress.

I am not responsible to the Senate and will not submit my actions to them.

The authority of Congress must be respected …. The President must confine himself to his executive duties—to obey and execute, not make the laws.

The federal courts do not sit as an ombudsman, refereeing the disputes between the other two branches.

The independence of the legislative arm must be respected. I had little taste for forcing Congressional action.

The Executive is as independent of either House of Congress as either House of Congress is independent of him, and they cannot call for the records of his actions, or the action of his officers against his consent, any more than he can call for any of the journals or records of the House or Senate.

The authority of the Supreme Court must not ... be permitted to control the Congress, or the Executive, when acting in their legislative capacities.

[Then a congressman:] Were I President, I should desire the legislation of the country to rest with Congress, uninfluenced by the executive in its origin or progress.

It may be said, indeed, that the Constitution has given to the Executive the power to annul the acts of the legislative body by refusing to them his assent.

Does not the President ... submit this subject to Congress for their sanction? Does he not recognize the principle ... that no treaty is binding until we pass the laws for executing it?”

The judicial branch of the government is the least dangerous because … it has no influence over either the sword or the purse.

In republics the executive must be strongest because everything conspires against it, while in monarchies the legislature must be strongest, because everything conspires in favour of the monarch

The framers of our Constitution came up with two major contributions to the art of government. The first was the idea of an executive not dependent on the political support of the legislature. The second was the idea of the judiciary independent of the executive and legislative branches.

The legislative branch acts for the future. Judges act by reflecting on the past. The President has to deal with the realities of today.

It matters enormously to a successful democratic society like ours that we have three branches of government, each with some independence and some control over the other two. That's set out in the Constitution.

I was only one-half the appointing power. I nominated, but the Senate confirmed.

Congressmen take an independent oath to protect and defend the Constitution. They work with the President; they do not work for the President.

The imperial Presidency requires a passive Congress.

Federal bureaucracies are creatures of Congress, not the executive.

Congress ... is far more than the simple, limited advisory council that most Presidents would like to maintain.

If our forefathers had wanted Congress to be the Commander in Chief, they would have said so.