How many national emergency have presidents declared since the 1976 passage of the National Emergencies Act ?

Aug 27

*There has been one more emergency declaration since the data from this chart was published. E.O. 14323 on 07/30/2025: Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Brazil. 90 Fed. Reg. 37739

Critical Analysis

Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:

Between Ronald Reagan’s inauguration in January 1981 and the start of Mr. Trump’s second term this year — presidents declared about seven national emergencies per four-year term, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan think tank focused on democracy. Mr. Trump declared that many in his first month back in office. Since 1976, which president declared the most national emergencies?
On 07/30/2025 President Trump signed E.O. 14323: Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Brazil. 90 Fed. Reg. 37739. During his two terms in office, how many emergency declarations has Trump declared and how scared should we be of the government of Brazil?
Passed in 1976, H.R.3884, the National Emergencies Act (NEA) of 1976, established a legal framework for the President to declare a national emergency, granting access to certain statutes and executive powers. Because of the misuse of power under President Nixon, the Congress passed the NEA to limit presidential powers giving Congress a crucial check on the President's emergency powers in three ways:
Congress can terminate a declared national emergency through a concurrent resolution.
The NEA sets up "fast-track" procedures for Congress to quickly consider and vote on a resolution to terminate a national emergency.
The Act establishes mandatory, continuous six-month review periods for ongoing national emergencies, during which Congress can consider taking action to terminate them.
How does the NEA illustrate the concept of checks and balances?
Based on the visual above and this list of every single National emergency declaration since 1976, before Trump came to office, were Democratic or Republican Presidents more likely to declare emergency?
In his first 100 days, President Trump has declared more national emergencies than any president in modern American history. Why do you think this has happened?
Since 1976, the other military action as part of a national emergency was George W. Bush’s declaration of a national emergency on September 14, 2001, in response to the terror attacks of September 11, which ordered troops of the military reserve to assist in national security. On his first day in office President Trump has declared a national emergency at the Southern Border. Border crossings into the U.S. have fallen to their lowest levels in decades, specifically to levels not seen since the 1960s and 1990s, reaching a record low in the second month of 2025, with total monthly encounters down to a fraction of previous years' highs. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported a historic low of 24,628 total encounters nationwide in July 2025, which is a dramatic decrease from previous years. Explain whether the terror attacks of September 11 and the current “national emergency” at the border are equivalent emergency threats to national security?
Trump’s Presidential Proclamation of the National Emergency begins with the following line, “The current situation at the southern border presents a border security and humanitarian crisis that threatens core national security interests and constitutes a national emergency." Does that seem like an accurate description of the situation at the southern border to you?
Emergency powers are often used by authoritarian governments to circumvent the Constitutional order and the rule of law. Predict whether we will see more emergencies and explain how the use of emergency declarations will impact American politics.
Remember, our entire system of government was set up to guard against tyranny. We tried monarchy, said, “No thanks. Bye George!” and set up a system of government to stop tyranny. Way back during the Constitutional Convention the Anti-Federalists were sounding the alarm about a concentration of power they worried could produce a home-grown tyrant. What do you think the Framers (Federalists and Anti-Federalists) would think about the increasing use of emergency powers?
President Trump has recently declared the following emergencies: a border emergency; an energy emergency; an emergency regarding drug cartels; tariff emergencies; an emergency at the International Criminal Court; a “crime emergency” in D.C. (where crime is down by double digits) and an emergency “Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Brazil.” You probably are familiar with the story of the little boy who cried wolf. Do you think all of these emergencies are emergencies?

Write and Discuss

Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.

Act on your Learning

What do you think is truly the biggest emergency our nation faces? Contact your member of Congress and let them know what you think is our country’s biggest threat.

Get Creative

Check out the White House website where Donald J. Trump Declares a Crime Emergency to Restore Safety in the District of Columbia. Use the president’s language and writing style to create your own presidential emergency about whatever issue you are most concerned with.