Emory International Law Review Volume 35 Issue 3 2021 Constitutional Crises Compared: Impeachment, Brexit, and Executive Accountability René Reyes Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/eilr Part of the International Law Commons Recommended Citation René Reyes, Constitutional Crises Compared: Impeachment, Brexit, and Executive Accountability, 35 Emory Int'l L. Rev. 441 (2021). Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.emory.edu/eilr/vol35/iss3/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Emory Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Emory International Law Review by an authorized editor of Emory Law Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. REYES2_4.8.21 4/21/2021 2:31 PM CONSTITUTIONAL CRISES COMPARED: IMPEACHMENT, BREXIT, AND EXECUTIVE ACCOUNTABILITY René Reyes ABSTRACT The United States and the United Kingdom share a common legal history and a number of fundamental constitutional values. Some of these fundamental values may occasionally come into conflict. For example, in 2019, both the United States and the United Kingdom experienced considerable legal and political upheaval as debates over the scope of executive power and the accountability of the executive branch came to the fore. In the United States, these debates culminated in the impeachment of President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. In the United Kingdom, the furor focused on Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s approach to Brexit and his attempt to prorogue Parliament. The impeachment drama and the Brexit saga were so severe that each was frequently referred to as a “constitutional crisis” in the popular press and public discourse.