Federal Court Rules Trump Cannot Use Defense Funds to Build Border Wall
The first court decision on Trump's plan to reallocate federal funds to "build the wall" goes against the administration.
Executive Power
Trump Loses Round One in Financial Record Fight
A federal judge rejects the President's attempt to block a Congressional subpoena of his financial records.
Democrats Will Go Forward With Barr Contempt Vote Despite DOJ Threat to Deny Them All Access to the Mueller Report
Plus: "Offending religious feelings" in Poland, Trump tax returns, the latest "heartbeat bill," Denver's mushroom measure, and more...
Judge Andrew Napolitano: President Trump Obstructed
The libertarian legal analyst says Trump, like his White House predecessors, has abused executive power in all sorts of ways.
Trump Obstructed Justice, Says Judge Andrew Napolitano
The Fox News legal analyst says the president is abusing executive power.
Mueller Report Shows a Weak President, Not a Weakened Presidency
That's a potentially dangerous combination.
What Did Libertarians Learn from the Mueller Report?
Reason editors discuss Russia, Biden, Moulton (?), and that television show with the dragons.
In Defense of Trump Obstructing Justice (When There's No Underlying Crime)
Forget about Donald Trump and the Mueller report and think about all the little (and not-so-little) people who get crushed by the feds.
Vox Symposium on the Mueller Report
The symposium includes contributions by a variety of legal commentators, including fellow VC blogger Keith Whittington and myself.
If Either Party Cared About Limiting Executive Power, Trump's Presidency Would Be Toast
Extreme partisanship and the desire for power will play as big a role in saving Trump's presidency as his aides did by ignoring his orders.
Standing on the Shoulders of Tyrants
Donald Trump's rhetoric is breathtakingly authoritarian, but so far he's done less than his predecessors to expand executive power.
Congress Grows a Spine
Thank Donald Trump for the belated attempt to enforce the Constitution's separation of powers.
Implications of Today's Senate Vote Against Trump's Border Wall "Emergency" Declaration
How the overwhelming vote against Trump's position could potentially affect the lawsuits challenging the legality of the declaration.
The Executive Power Clause—Crux of the Constitutional Settlement
The nation's force mustered in service of the nation's will.
Executive Power and the Metonymy Error
How has residuum theory gotten this all so wrong?
Trump Administration Continues to Lose Sanctuary City Cases - this Time Respecting New Fiscal Year 2018 Grant Conditions Imposed on State and Local Government Receiving Federal Law Enforcement Grants
The administration continues to try to impose grant conditions on state and local governments that were never authorized by by Congress. In two new decision, courts continue to rule against them.
Article II Vests the Executive Power, Not the Royal Prerogative
Against the Imperial Presidency.
Why Trump's Emergency Declaration is Illegal
The strongest legal argument against Trump's attempt to use emergency powers to build the wall is that declaring an emergency does not authorize him to spend money and condemn property for that purpose. But he also lacks grounds to declare an emergency in the first place.
Trump's Phony Yet Legal Border Emergency
Congress seems to have authorized this end run around its spending power. Can it do that?
This SCOTUS Precedent Is Bad News for Trump's Emergency Border Wall Declaration
"Extraordinary conditions do not create or enlarge constitutional power."
Once a Critic of Executive Power, Trump Is Now Taking Us Closer to Rule by Decree
Bargaining over policy is supposed to be frustrating. That's a feature, not a bug, of limited government.
Why No Congress Day, Judiciary Day, or Separation of Powers Day?
My 2015 critique of Presidents Day is, if anything, even more relevant four years later.
Vox Symposium on the Legality of Trump's Plan to Use Emergency Powers to Build the Wall
A variety of legal experts weigh in on the subject, including me. Most conclude Trump may have the authority to declare an emergency, but not to spend funds and seize property for the wall.
Trump's Emergency Action on the Border Wall Stinks All the Way Down
There is no good justification for what the president is doing. Republicans and conservatives need to call him out on it.
How to Go From Government Shutdown to National Emergency in Just Two Weeks: Reason Roundup
Plus: Congress forgets to fund the First Step Act, The New York Times chastises smug politicians over Amazon, and what if the U.S. were 100 city-states?
The Perils of Trying to Use Emergency Powers to Build Trump's Wall
A summary of the reasons why Trump lacks the power to use emergency powers to build his border wall, and why it would cause great harm and set a dangerous precedent if he did. Other than that, it's a great idea!
The Ongoing Gratuitous Cruelty of Trump's Travel Ban
The way the travel ban policy has been implemented both before and after the Supreme Court's decision further underscores the magnitude of the Justices' mistake.
My USA Today Op Ed on Using Emergency Powers to Build Trump's Wall
The op ed explains why this option is not legal - and why it would set a dangerous precedent if the president succeeded in doing it.
Some Conservatives Recognize the Risks of Using Emergency Powers to Build Trump's Wall
They correctly warn it would set a dangerous precedent that could be abused by future presidents, including liberal Democrats.
Trump's National Emergency Is an American Obscenity
Republicans embrace presidential authoritarianism, continuing a foul bipartisan tradition of legislating immigration through the executive branch.
My Op ed on Trump, Emergency Powers, and the Wall
The op ed was published yesterday in the New York Daily News, but may be even more relevant today.
Surprise! Looks Like Elizabeth Warren Is Running for President!
She's the highest-profile candidate to jump in.
Trump's Bump Stock Ban Shows Once Again He Is Happy to Ignore Inconvenient Laws
The administration usurps Congress by redefining machine guns.
Trump's 60 Minutes Interview Further Demystifies the Presidency
From the moment he started his improbable run for higher office, Donald Trump has stripped bare all pretensions that politics is about more than "winning."
Why the Executive Branch Shouldn't Legislate
Progressives appreciate the separation of powers-up to a point.
Gorsuch and Sotomayor Fault Congress for Giving 'a Blank Check to the Attorney General'
SCOTUS weighs congressional power, criminal law, and the non-delegation doctrine in Gundy v. U.S.
Kavanaugh's Testimony on Executive Power [Updated with Material from the Afternoon Session]
No great surprises so far. But some notable points nonetheless.
Washington Post Symposium on Brett Kavanaugh's Jurisprudence
The Post has a symposium in which a a variety of legal commentators (myself included) discuss what they consider to be Judge Kavanaugh's most important opinions.
Kavanaugh on the Nixon Tapes Case
In 1999, Judge Kavanaugh suggested that the Supreme Court case that forced Nixon to turn over the Watergate tapes may have been wrongly decided. But it's not entirely clear what he now thinks about the issue.
Kavanaugh and Executive Power - the Good, the Bad, and the Overblown
The debate over Judge Kavanaugh's views on executive power actually encompasses four separate issues. On some of them his views bode well for the future, on others not so much.
SCOTUS Nominee Brett Kavanaugh Sees Perils of Aggressive Administrative State
Like Neil Gorsuch, the D.C. Circuit judge has criticized Chevron deference for encouraging executive arrogance.
When the Supreme Court Blessed the Imperial Presidency
The story of how classical liberal Justice George Sutherland enabled executive overreach abroad.
My USA Today Op Ed on the Travel Ban Decision
The op ed outlines some of the grave flaws in today's Supreme Court ruling.
Initial Thoughts on the Supreme Court's Terrible Travel Ban Decision
Some preliminary comments on a badly flawed ruling.
A Little-Noticed Legal Ruling That Is Bad News for Trump
Can the president of the United States be sued for damages in a civil proceeding?
