The actions of west coast and east coast liberal Democrat governors to usurp a federal role in the virus response and in the reopening of the nation for business may give them a boost in popularity if the reopening is thought to have come off successfully.

However, if there are problems (and there inevitably will be), including a resurgence of a wide spread of the virus, then they will be on the political hook for that responsibility as well.

The governors then will not (and the White House may have baited them into this) be able to point fingers at the president when issues arise. President Trump could be employing political jujitsu, using the force of their own attack against them, in giving the governors all the power they need to overreach.

If that happens and they have to call for increased federal aid after their bid for policy autonomy, voters may see their move to cut the White House out of the dialogue as ill-judged at best and dangerous at most.

Meanwhile, a constitutional debate rages on whether the president has the power to intervene in state reopenings. The president has said he wants virus-related programs executed at the state level. However, on Monday he said his power on this issue was “total.”

Does the 10th Amendment come into play here? That amendment to the U.S. Constitution reserves power not delegated to the federal government by the Constitution to the states and the people. Does the reopening of the nation to business fall under that constitutional umbrella? Will this issue end up in the courts, ultimately to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court?

If so, as a majority of the justices are relatively conservative and thus fans of the original intent of the Framers, they very well could rule for the states and against the federal government.