American Presidents Shouldn't Endorse Foreign Political Candidates
Trump's endorsements of Viktor Orbán and Sanae Takaichi, like Clinton's support for Boris Yeltsin or Obama's opposition to Benjamin Netanyahu, do not make America great.
Executive Branch
Energy Department Moves To Fast-Track Advanced Nuclear Reactor Approvals
The Trump administration excludes advanced nuclear power reactors from excessive National Environmental Policy Act requirements.
How Involuntary Commitment Could Become Indefinite Detention
Federal authorities should not be able to turn civil commitment into a life sentence for anyone the government deems inconvenient.
Free Nations Don't Have To Care About the Whims of Elected Officials
Limited government means those in power can do limited damage to the rest of us.
Trump Issues Order Cracking Down on Corporate Homeownership
The president's order is not the comprehensive ban on large investor–owned housing that he promised. But it could still have a chilling effect on the single-family rental market.
Tom Homan Isn't the Solution
Homan is a bully with little regard for rights or the rule of law. And the problems with Trump's immigration tactics point back to the White House itself.
Brett Kavanaugh Says Trump Threatens Federal Reserve Independence
Trump’s legal arguments “would weaken, if not shatter, the independence of the Federal Reserve,” the justice said.
Mike Johnson Says He Has 'No Intention' of Letting Congress Vote on Trump's Tariffs
A House rule prohibiting tariff resolutions from coming to the floor will expire at the end of the month and is unlikely to be renewed.
The Insurrection Act, Which Trump Keeps Threatening To Invoke, Is Alarmingly Vague and Broad
The antiquated statute arguably allows the president to deploy the military in response to nearly any form of domestic disorder.
Trump's Push To Restore 'Truth and Sanity in American History' Tests Nonpartisan Institutions
Politically-motivated firings and increased executive branch scrutiny set “a dangerous precedent,” warns a former archivist of the United States.
'We Cannot Be Afraid To Do Something Because the Left Might Do It in the Future'
Vice President J.D. Vance on the nature of power
Can We Save American History From Partisan Politics?
Former U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan discusses the importance of preserving presidential records and the challenge of maintaining public trust in an era of partisan conflict.
Trump's War on Interest Rates
No one likes high interest rates on credit cards and loans, but artificially lowering interest rates via executive power is not a solution.
Justice Barrett, Trump v. Slaughter, and Presidential Removal Power from 1989 to 2009
Presidential non-acquiescence in Humphrey's Executor from 1989 to 2009.
Justice Barrett, Trump v. Slaughter, and Presidential Removal Power from 1969 to 1989
Humphrey's Executor from 1969 to 1989.
Justice Barrett, Trump v. Slaughter, and Presidential Removal Power from 1945 to 1969
Almost every president since 1945 has refused to accept Humphrey's Executor as having been correctly decided.
Justice Barrett, Trump v. Slaughter, and Presidential Removal Power from 1933 to 1945
President Franklin D. Roosevelt did his best to defend presidential removal power at will notwithstanding the Supreme Court’s lawless decision in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States.
Review: Why You've Probably Never Heard of James Garfield's Assassin
The Death by Lightning miniseries dramatizes the assassination of a president who left little lasting impact on Americans' lives.
Justice Barrett, Trump v. Slaughter, and Presidential Removal Power from 1921 to 1933
Every President from 1921 to 1933 successfully defended presidential removal power at will.
Transgender Athletes, Guns, and the Federal Reserve: 3 SCOTUS Cases To Watch in January
The Supreme Court’s January docket is packed with big cases.
Why the DOJ Has Stopped Describing Maduro as the Head of a Literal Drug Cartel
That embarrassing mistake highlights the slipperiness of Trump's attempts to justify legally dubious policies by invoking the specter of "foreign terrorist organizations."
Justice Barrett, Trump v. Slaughter, and Presidential Removal Power from 1901 to 1921
Every president from 1901 to 1921 successfully defended presidential removal power at will.
The 'Law Enforcement' Rationale for Invading Venezuela Is an Open-Ended License for War
If an indictment is enough to justify military action, why bother seeking congressional approval?
Justice Barrett, Trump v. Slaughter, and Presidential Removal Power from 1881 to 1901
Every president from 1881 to 1901 successfully defended presidential at-will removal power.
Congressional Acquiescence Facilitates Executive Branch Military Adventurism
Here as elsewhere, lethargy in the legislature is no way to counter execss energy in the executive.
Thoughts on the Capture of Maduro and Trump's Attack on Venezuela
Maduro is a brutal dictator who is getting what he deserves. But Trump's actions are still illegal, because lacking proper congressional authorization. Whether they result in a beneficial regime change in Venezuela remains to be seen.
3 Areas Where the Courts Pushed Back Against Trump's Attempts To Avoid Judicial Review in 2025
The president asserted broad powers to deport people, impose tariffs, and deploy the National Guard based on his own unilateral determinations.
Cato Institute Looking to Hire an Executive Power Scholar
An opportunity to work at the nation's leading libertarian think tank.
How Politicians and Cops Tried To Dodge Responsibility in 2025
Presidents, legislators, and police officers were desperate to blame anyone but themselves.
These Progressives Seek to 'Disempower' the Courts
Is unfettered majority rule actually a good idea for the left to embrace?
Refusing To Let Trump Deploy the National Guard in Chicago, SCOTUS Adds a New Wrinkle To the Debate
The justices suggested the president is misinterpreting "the regular forces," a key phrase in the statute on which he is relying.
Mamdani Needs a Maximalist Vision of Mayoral Power To Achieve His Goals. Lina Khan Has a Plan.
As one of Mamdani's top advisers, Khan has been making a list of all the "authorities that the mayor can unilaterally deploy."
Trump's Cruel and Illegal Expanded Travel Ban
A recent White House proclamation further expands his previous travel bans, to the point of barring nearly all legal migration from some 40 countries. Legally, it further underscores that Trump is claiming virtually unlimited executive power to restrict immigration,a claim that runs afoul of the nondelegation doctrine.
Trump's Designation of Fentanyl As a 'Weapon of Mass Destruction' Is a Drug-Fueled Delusion
The executive order does not accomplish much in practical terms, but it jibes with the president's conflation of drug trafficking with violent aggression.
Cannavictory
Plus: Polymarket bets on when killers will be apprehended, how locking up phones saves high school, and more...
Trump Claims He's Turning America Around. He's Really Doubling Down on Executive Overreach.
From immigration crackdowns to trade policy, the Trump administration is increasingly centralizing power in Washington, D.C.
A Judicial Solution for Presidential Overreach and Congressional Abdication
The Supreme Court should take a page from its own history.
Some Answers to Justice Barrett's Questions in Trump v. Slaughter
Why the Executive Power Vesting clause of Article II compels a holding that the President has the power to remove Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter.
SCOTUS Sounds Ready To Let Trump Fire FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter
Plus: It's the final day of Reason's webathon.
D.C. Circuit Upholds Presidential Removal of MSPB and NLRB Members
On the eve of Trump v. Slaughter, the D.C. Circuit offers a way to distinguish Humphrey's Executor.
The Third Circuit's Curious Opinion on the "De Facto" U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey
The Circuit's decision appears to invite the workaround of dividing responsibilities between two persons in the U.S. Attorney's Office, who could then each exercise half of that Office's powers.
Third Circuit Affirms Disqualification of Alina Habba
The first appellate court to consider the Trump Administration's aggressive approach to U.S. Attorney appointments.
McCarthy: "'We Intended the Strike to Be Lethal' Is Not a Defense"
NRO's Andrew McCarthy on why strike on defenseless survivors of strike on drug boat was "at best, a war crime under federal law."
Trump Pardoned Gobble and Waddle. He Should Pardon More Deserving People, Too.
The president loves freeing people. His controversial clemency grants should not obscure the fact that the pardon power is incredibly important.
Trump's Habitual Charges of 'Treason' Reflect His Authoritarian Impulses
The president’s reaction to a supposedly "seditious" video illustrates his tendency to portray criticism of him as a crime.
An Antidote to the FDR Cult
A new biography presents Franklin Roosevelt as one of the greatest scoundrels of American political history.
