Letter's From Prudence

On Federal Power and Convenient Federalism

To the Citizen Who Expects Better,

The American constitutional system was not designed to abolish conflict between federal and state authority, but to confine it. Federal power is enumerated; state power is reserved; and where valid federal law speaks, it is supreme. This architecture is not decorative. It is the machinery of restraint.

And yet, one notices that “federalism” is often treated less as machinery and more as a costume—worn when useful, discarded when inconvenient.

In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Court declared: “The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion,” and said it was “return[ing] that authority to the people and their elected representatives.” (supremecourt.gov)
Many state officials greeted this as a restoration of state authority. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, for example, celebrated the end of what he called an “unconstitutional and unconscionable national ‘right’ to abortion,” and insisted, “Today, the question of abortion returns to the states.” (Texas Attorney General)

But almost immediately, federal supremacy re-entered the stage—not as a hypothetical, but as a governing argument.

In 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Idaho, arguing that the state’s abortion ban was preempted by EMTALA in emergencies. Attorney General Merrick Garland said plainly that “a state law that attempts to prevent a hospital from fulfilling its obligations under EMTALA violates federal law and the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.” (Department of Justice)
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra was even less ambiguous: “Under the law, no matter where you live, women have the right to emergency care — including abortion care… federal law preempts state abortion bans when needed for emergency care.” (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)

So, in one arena, state authority is praised as constitutional virtue; in another, federal supremacy is asserted as constitutional necessity. One may agree with either policy outcome. The structural point is sharper: the doctrine changes costume depending on the desired result.

And the reversals do not run in only one direction.

In 2025, CMS announced it was rescinding 2022 EMTALA guidance and said that guidance “do[es] not reflect the policy of this Administration,” adding that CMS would “work to rectify any perceived legal confusion and instability created by the former administration’s actions.” (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
At the state level, Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador welcomed the Trump administration’s change in posture, calling the prior federal action “meddlesome DOJ litigation” and expressing gratitude that it would “no longer be an obstacle to Idaho enforcing its laws.” (Idaho Office of Attorney General)

What is one to conclude from this alternating theology?

That many leaders do not hold federalism as a principle; they hold it as a lever.

This same pattern appears far beyond abortion. Consider how quickly states invoke state sovereignty when challenging federal agency rules. In litigation against EPA carbon-emissions rules, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey argued the regulations “exceed the EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act” and would transform the nation’s energy grid “without explicit congressional permission.” (Reuters)
Here, the language is limitation, restraint, and separation of powers—the very music of federalism.

So the public is told, in one season, that national authority must override state action for the public good; and in another, that national authority must be restrained to preserve liberty and lawful government. Often, it is the same constitutional vocabulary, spoken with entirely different intent.

This is not constitutional fidelity. It is constitutional opportunism.

A republic cannot remain coherent if foundational doctrines are treated as interchangeable tools. Federalism is not a slogan. It is a boundary. If boundaries are negotiated on the basis of who controls Washington, then constitutional argument becomes merely the velvet glove on raw power.

And power—left to its own habits—rarely restrains itself out of courtesy.

Constitutional principle cannot be seasonal. When federalism becomes a tactic, the Constitution becomes a prop.

I remain,
Your Humble Servant,

Prudence C. Wilder