congress draws most of its constitutional powers from the constitution.
where in the constitution does congress draw most of its constitutional powers from?
the constitution
those other parts of the constitution include the extensive powers granted to congress. article i of the constitution gives congress the exclusive power to make laws, which the president then must execute, provided that those laws are constitutional. article i, section 8, clause 18 of the constitution known as the necessary and proper clause grants congress the power to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution all powers vested by this constitution in the government of the united states, or in any department or officer thereof". the constitution also grants congress power "to make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces." the theory of the unitary executive can only be legitimate insofar as it allows congress to wield its constitutional powers while ensuring that the president can do the same.
unitary executive theory
the balance of federal powers and those powers held by the states as defined in the supremacy clause of the u.s. constitution was first addressed in the case of "mcculloch v. maryland" (1819). the court's decision by chief justice john marshall asserted that the laws adopted by the federal government, when exercising its constitutional powers, are generally paramount over any conflicting laws adopted by state governments. after "mcculloch", the primary legal issues in this area concerned the scope of congress' constitutional powers, and whether the states possess certain powers to the exclusion of the federal government, even if the constitution does not explicitly limit them to the states.
states' rights