Bush was given several literal blank checks during his two terms

And it was dumb then, too. Republicans–in general–are more authoritarian, and are happy to cede more power to an executive. Dems then use the power when they take the executive branch. Which is stupid, because it allows Republicans to keep expanding the power of the executive.

all ended up either being swept under the rug or continued under the incoming Biden Administration.

…Which is literally part of my fucking point. A strong executive and weak legislative branch is bad, and using the power instead of getting rid of it means that someone that’s malicious has more tools at their disposal.

It’s fast and easy to break things. It takes a long time to fix things once they’re broken. A strong executive can break things far, far faster than a strong executive can fix them.