Trump Has a Habit of Asserting Broad, Unreviewable Authority
Whether he is waging the drug war, imposing tariffs, deporting alleged gang members, or fighting crime, the president thinks he can do "anything I want to do."
Executive overreach
Once a Critic of Executive Orders, Trump Embraces Unilateral Action
With Congress essentially AWOL, the courts offer the only real check on presidential power.
The Rationale for the Federal Circuit's 'Radical Left' Tariff Decision Is Fundamentally Conservative
Donald Trump's claim that the appeals court ruled against him for partisan or ideological reasons is hard to take seriously.
The Federal Circuit's Tariff Ruling Highlights the Audacity of Trump's Power Grab
Seven judges agreed that the president's assertion of unlimited authority to tax imports is illegal and unconstitutional.
Trump's $4.9 Billion 'Pocket Rescission' Violates Federal Law and Usurps Congressional Authority
Congress holds the power of the purse in our system of government, and further eroding congressional responsibility for spending decisions will not end well.
When It Comes to Fighting Crime With the National Guard, Trump Says, He Can Do 'Anything I Want To Do'
The president's plan to promote public safety by deploying troops in cities across the country is hard to reconcile with constitutional constraints on federal authority.
We Don't Need More Federal Intervention in U.S. Cities
The use of government force to achieve political advantage is dangerous and sets a bad precedent.
9 Years Ago, Marco Rubio Explained Why Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order Is Unconstitutional
The 2016 brief defended the understanding of the 14th Amendment that the president wants to overturn.
Forget Obama: Trump's Pen and Phone Are Bigger Even Than FDR's
The president is on a record-shattering pace for executive actions.
Federal Circuit Judges Question Trump's Discovery of Vast Tariff Powers
The president is claiming "unbounded authority" to impose import taxes based on a law that does not mention them.
Federal Court Appears Receptive to Arguments Against Unilateral Presidential Tariff Power
President Trump’s invocation of emergency powers to impose tariffs faces skeptical judges.
Hiking Tariffs on Canada, Trump Demands 'Adequate Steps' To Achieve an Impossible Drug War Goal
Canada accounts for a tiny percentage of fentanyl smuggling, which cannot be stopped by trying harder.
Are Trump's Tariffs Responding to an Actual Emergency?
If so, then why postpone any enforcement until October?
Law Firms Take Fewer Pro Bono Clients After Trump's Unconstitutional Orders
Even though the president has lost every time the orders have come before a judge, big law firms are still hesitant to upset the king and incur his wrath.
Can Trump Use Emergency Powers To Tax All Imports? His Tariffs Are Back in Court on Thursday.
To win in court, the Trump administration will have to argue against a pair of legal theories that conservatives have spent years developing as a way to check executive power.
Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order Is Unconstitutional, Says the First Appeals Court to Consider the Issue
The judgment is not surprising, since the president's reading of the 14th Amendment contradicts its text and history, plus 127 years of Supreme Court precedent.
The 8th Circuit Court Was Right To Kill the FTC's 'Click-to-Cancel' Rule
The Federal Trade Commission ignored mandatory regulatory impact analyses in an attempt to institute its "click-to-cancel" rule.
Appeals Court Briefs Say Trump's Tariffs Are Based on a Statute That Does Not Authorize Tariffs at All
The Cato Institute and the New Civil Liberties Alliance urge the Federal Circuit to extend the logic of a decision against the president's far-reaching import taxes.
A Broad Ruling Against Trump's Immigration Policies Illustrates Alternatives to Universal Injunctions
Class actions and Administrative Procedure Act claims can achieve much the same result as the nationwide orders that the Supreme Court rejected.
Trump's 'Giant Win' Does Not Validate His Unconstitutional Birthright Citizenship Order
Tellingly, the president avoided defending his dubious interpretation of the 14th Amendment at the Supreme Court.
Trump Says the Courts Have No Business Questioning His Dubious Definition of 'Alien Enemies'
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit is considering whether the president properly invoked the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged gang members.
Using the National Guard in DEA Raids Is the Worst Kind of Drug War Mission Creep
The deployment of National Guard soldiers on a DEA drug raid is a serious test of whether the Posse Comitatus Act means something or not.
Trump's Controlling Stake in U.S. Steel Is Indefensible Socialist Nonsense
Any decisions made by U.S. Steel's executives and shareholders will require approval from Trump, his appointees, or his successors.
The Attack on Iran Is Unlawful
Trump's attack on Iran plainly violates the War Powers Act. Limits on executive power are most important when they are inconvenient.
The Restraining Order Against Federalizing the California National Guard Highlights Trump's Lawlessness
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer concluded that the president failed to comply with the statute he cited—and violated the 10th Amendment too.
This Small Business Is in Limbo As Owner Sues To Stop Trump's Tariffs
Next week could be a pivotal one, as a federal appeals court could decide whether to restore an injunction against Trump's tariffs.
Trump's Haste Begets Lawlessness
The president treats legal constraints as inconveniences that can be overridden by executive fiat.
What J.D. Vance Gets Wrong About Judicial Deference to Executive Power
The federal courts are supposed to be a bulwark against presidential overreach, not a rubber stamp.
Did 'Activist Judges' Derail Trump's Tariffs?
No. One of the judges in Wednesday's unanimous ruling was a Trump appointee, and the ruling rested on important legal and constitutional principles.
A Federal Court Just Blocked Trump's Tariffs
The Court of International Trade ruled that Trump's emergency economic powers do not include the authority to impose tariffs on nearly all imports.
A Federal Judge Lists 8 Ways That Trump Violated the Constitution by Punishing a Disfavored Law Firm
The president's crusade against attorneys whose work offends him, which defies the First Amendment and undermines the right to counsel, has provoked several judicial rebukes.
A Top Antitrust Enforcer Is Open To Prosecuting People Who Disagree With Him
Mark Meador thinks the Federal Trade Commission may have the legal right to investigate nonprofits that “advocate for the interests of giant corporations” if they don’t disclose their donors.
Trump's 'Deal' With China Leaves American Consumers and Exporters Facing Higher Tariffs Than Before
The White House calls it "the art of the deal," but a 30 percent tariff on imports from China is economically damaging and constitutionally dubious.
The Federal Government's 175,000 Pages of Regulations Turn the Rule of Law Into a Cruel Joke
Trump rightly decries the "absurd and unjust" consequences of proliferating regulatory crimes.
Defenders of Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order Offer an Implausible Take on a 127-Year-Old Precedent
Briefs urging the Supreme Court to stay injunctions against the order challenge "the conventional wisdom" about the meaning of an 1898 decision interpreting the 14th Amendment.
What if the President Tries to Annex Greenland and Canada?
Trump's new imperialism makes neither economic nor geopolitical sense.
Federal Judge Rules Trump's Alien Enemies Act Proclamation Is Unlawful
The Trump-appointed judge found that the administration's use of the Alien Enemies Act "exceeds the scope of the statute and is contrary to the plain, ordinary meaning of the statute's terms."
Trump's Tariffs Usurp the Legislature's Tax Power
The president’s sweeping import levies have no basis in the statute he cites.
Trump's 100-Day Energy Policy Scorecard: Disrupted Markets and Slowed Investment
So much for unleashing American energy.
Could 'Princess Awesome' Defeat Trump's Tariffs?
Small businesses and a dozen states have filed a pair of lawsuits challenging Trump's authority to impose tariffs on board games, clothes, and lots of other things.
Are Trump's 'Liberation Day' Tariffs Illegal?
Several businesses harmed by Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs have filed a lawsuit challenging his use of emergency economic powers.
Trump Flagrantly Targets Political Opponents in Executive Orders
Richard Nixon infamously drafted an "enemies list" of people he wanted to go after. At least Trump conducts his corruption out in the open.
Markets Don't Want More Coal. Trump Is Propping Up the Industry Anyway.
The president’s preferential treatment of fossil fuels will cost consumers.
Rand Paul Is Leading Another Long-Shot Effort at Stopping Trump's Terrible Trade War
Bills introduced Tuesday in the House and Senate would terminate the emergency declaration Trump issued last week.
Trump Abuses Government Power To Punish Democrats' Law Firms
The president is politically targeting those he says politically targeted him.
Are Trump's Tariffs Constitutional?
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the president's imposition of tariffs, a lawsuit alleges.
The Hidden Politics of Whiskey Prices
Donald Trump is determined to make everything from Canadian whiskey to Mexican avocados more expensive. Can anyone stop him?
Trump Thinks the Feds Can Fix America's Critical Mineral Supply Chain
Invoking the Defense Production Act won't boost the supply of critical minerals.
