Ensuring Government Accountability During Public Health Emergencies
By FAZAL R. KHAN
Regardless of whether one agrees that it should have, 9/11 did transform our country. The opportunity to seize the moment and erect an “imperial” or “unitary” executive branch of government was clear. Right after the terror attacks on this country’s financial and political centers, an unsettling daze afflicted the nation’s capital. The unthinkable had just occurred. The concept of national security, about which most Americans had rarely given a second thought, was front and center on everyone’s mind. Initially, the Bush Administration received broad praise for reassuring the public that it was safe and that a serious plan was in place to prevent further attacks. Only later would we learn what this plan entailed—convincing the public that the federal government needed unchecked power to keep the nation safe. Yet immediately after the attacks, a President previously plagued by dismal public ratings and questionable legitimacy received the undivided support of his country.
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