| The United States is the first country in the world to adopt the federal system.The powers of the federal government are delegated by the constituent states.Once delegated,and stipulated in the Constitution,they cannot be claimed back.However,due to the ambiguity of constitutional provisions and other reasons,the conflict between federal powers and state powers and the competition for power between the two sides have always existed in the historical development.The relationship between federal powers and state powers is not invariable,but in constant change.During the Trump administration,the U.S.federal government had changed the momentum of active expansion of power in the past,shrinking the power of the federal government in the fields of education,health care,public health and environmental protection,weakening the role of the federal government,returning the power to the states and emphasizing the dominance of the states.And on immigration,where the federal government has all the power,state and local governments are increasingly assertive in asserting their policy authority through legislation,executive action and court challenges,effectively encroaching on the federal government’s power.The aggravation of political polarization at the federal and state levels,Trump’s status as a businessman,his business thinking skilled in calculating costs and benefits,and the development of domestic public opinion are the factors that influence the contraction of federal power and the return of state power during this period.In addition,by comparing with previous administrations,it is found that the power relationship between the federal government and the state government in the Trump administration has its own characteristics,which are mainly manifested as the hostile takeover of the previous administration’s policies and the active use of administrative tools.Federalism is an important part of American political life,it affects almost every political issue,and is the key to understand the real politics.The retreat of federal power and the return of traditional power in the Trump era is a double-edged sword for the domestic governance of the United States.While unleashing vitality,it will also cause chaos and disorder in governance just like the COVID-19 pandemic.In addition,the influence of the relationship between federal powers and state powers on American diplomacy cannot be ignored.The decentralization of the federal government in the field of environmental protection enabled the Democratic state government to carry out its own climate diplomacy and actively participated in China-American relations,which provides an opportunity and window for the development of bilateral relations.The competition between federal powers and state powers on the immigration issue had a negative impact on the relations between the United States and some Muslim countries. |
