Defending the Summary Execution of Suspected Drug Smugglers, Trump Declares an 'Armed Conflict'
The president thinks he can transform murder into self-defense by executive fiat.
Executive Power
Trump's Planned Farm Bailout Should Require Congressional Approval
The Trump administration has already claimed the power to raise taxes without congressional approval. Now it is going to spend money that way too.
Fifth Circuit Will Rehear Alien Enemies Act Case En Banc
It will review a panel decision holding that Trump could not invoke this sweeping wartime authority by claiming illegal migration and drug smuggling qualify as an "invasion."
After 20 Years as Chief Justice, John Roberts Is Now Friend and Foe to Executive Power
Which version of the chief justice will emerge in the Supreme Court’s newest term?
Caleb Nelson's Originalist Critique of Unitary Executive Theory
The prominent originalist legal scholar argues the Constitution does not require that the president have the power to fire executive branch officials.
Deploying Federal Troops Is Not a Sustainable Solution to Crime in American Cities
Federal officers policing Washington, D.C., on Trump's orders appear to be driving crime down, but the plan is neither constitutionally sound nor viable in the long term.
Will a Shutdown Finally Shrink Government?
Plus: the Comey indictment, Trump deploys the National Guard to Portland, Eric Adams exits New York City's mayoral race, and a listener asks about cyclical theories of history
Trump's Executive Order Against 'Political Violence' Is an Un-American Attack on Free Speech
The order lists "anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity" as common threads among "domestic terrorists," though all are protected by the First Amendment.
SCOTUS Is Now Poised To Overrule Humphrey's Executor, a 1935 Precedent Limiting Presidential Power
The Supreme Court will soon review the president’s authority to fire “independent” agency heads.
Brendan Carr Says Networks Must Serve the 'Public Interest.' What Does That Mean?
Congress placed the term in the law but chose not to define it, leaving that task for future regulators.
Trump's Latest Tariff Defense Asserts Uncheckable Executive Power
The president’s attempt to evade the major questions doctrine deserves to be rejected.
Trump's Harmful and Illegal Plan to Gut H-1B Visas by Imposing $100,000 Fees
The plan violates the relevant visa law. If allowed to stand, it would significantly harm productivity and innovation.
Trump's 'Firing' of Lisa Cook Is Headed for SCOTUS
Plus: Pam Bondi flunks free speech 101.
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."
Another Military Strike on a Speedboat Confirms Trump's Policy of Murdering Suspected Drug Smugglers
The president's new approach to drug law enforcement represents a stark departure from military norms and criminal justice principles.
Trump Calls His Drone Strike on an Alleged Drug Boat 'Self-Defense.' It Looks More Like Murder.
Equating drug trafficking with armed aggression, the president asserts the authority to kill anyone he perceives as a threat to "our most vital national interests."
Once a Critic of Executive Orders, Trump Embraces Unilateral Action
With Congress essentially AWOL, the courts offer the only real check on presidential power.
Trump's Tariffs Face a Major 'Major Questions' Problem at the Supreme Court
The same legal theory that tripped up Joe Biden's student loan scheme could also sink Donald Trump's tariffs.
Trump's Unjust and Illegal Killing of 11 Venezuelans
Killing suspected drug traffickers is both unjust and illegal. And it could be the start of an effort to turn the already awful War on Drugs into something more like a real war, thereby making it even worse.
2 Trump Cases To Watch as the Supreme Court Returns From Summer Break
Plus: A momentous date in the life of Frederick Douglass
Fifth Circuit Rules Trump's Use of Alien Enemies Act is Illegal
The 2-1 ruling is in line with most previous court decisions on Trump's invocation of the AEA. Judge Oldham wrote an extremely long, but significantly flawed, dissent.
The 5th Circuit Rejects Trump's Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act
The appeals court blocked the removal of alleged Venezuelan gang members under that law "because we find no invasion or predatory incursion."
'We're Going In'
Plus: Bombing "narco-terrorists" in the Caribbean, American manufacturing shrinks for the sixth consecutive month, Massie wants the Epstein files, and more...
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.
Trump Can Fire a Lot of People. What's Special About the Federal Reserve?
"The Federal Reserve is a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity," the Supreme Court wrote in a ruling this year.
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.
Federal Circuit Rules Against Trump's Massive IEEPA Tariffs in Our Case Challenging Them
In a 7-4 ruling, the en banc court upheld trial court ruling against all the challenged tariffs. The scope of the injunction against them remains to be determined.
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.
Will SCOTUS Let Trump Fire Lisa Cook From the Federal Reserve?
Or will the justices say that Trump fired her for illegal reasons?
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.
$500 Million To Paint the Border Wall? 5 of Trump's Strangest, Most Expensive Vanity Projects
Donald Trump is no stranger to wasteful spending. But these examples are especially egregious.
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.
D.C. Sues Pam Bondi and the Trump Administration for Replacing Police Commissioner
The latest escalation in the showdown between the Trump administration and D.C. elected officials
My New Bulwark Article on Trump's Unconstitutional Export Tax
The article explains why the policy is unconstitutional, but also why it is unlikely to be challenged in court in the near future.
Forget Obama: Trump's Pen and Phone Are Bigger Even Than FDR's
The president is on a record-shattering pace for executive actions.
After Another Delay, Trump's China Tariffs Look Even Less Like a Legitimate 'Emergency'
The words national emergency are not a magic spell that presidents can utter to unlock unlimited legislative powers for themselves.
Apple CEO Tim Cook Has Learned the Rules for Getting Ahead in Trump's America
When the line between public and private is erased, politics is all about special favors. That's gross.
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.
Trump Is Openly Using the Presidency To Enrich the Trump Brand
And generations of allegedly anti-corruption Republicans just don't care.
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?
El Salvador Just Made It Legal for Bukele To Stay in Power Indefinitely
With near-total control of Congress, Nayib Bukele’s party eliminated key limits on presidential power.
Today's Federal Circuit Oral Argument in Our Tariff Case
Outcomes are hard to predict. But the judges seemed skeptical of the administration's claim that the president has virtually unlimited power to impose tariffs.
My New Dispatch Article on Judicial Review of Emergency Powers
It makes the case for strong judicial review of executive invocations of sweeping emergency powers.
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.
