Ninth Circuit Rules Against Trump's Diversion of Military Construction Funds to Build his Border Wall
The divided 2-1 decision is the first court of appeals ruling to rule on the legality of a key part of the funding diversion effort.
Executive Branch
Be Patient: We Might Not Know Who Won the Election Right Away
Mail-in ballots typically take days or sometimes weeks to be counted, so don't expect results on Election Night this year.
COVID-19 Demonstrates the Need To Change Nuclear Weapon Launch Authority
Giving one man control of all nuclear weapons is a mistake.
Michigan Supreme Court Strikes Down Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's COVID-19 Executive Orders
Whitmer helped spark a national debate over the limits of executive power.
Federal Court Rules Against Trump's Work Visa Ban
The court concludes that the ban is illegal in large part because the broad authority claimed by the president violates the nondelegation doctrine.
Public Disclosure of Presidential Illnesses
A useful summary of how White Houses are not always forthcoming about medical issues afflicting Presidents.
What Happens if Trump Becomes too Incapacitated to Serve, Drops Out of the Election, or Both?
Some possible answers to these questions from leading experts on the subject.
DC Circuit Rules House of Representatives has Standing to Challenge Trump's Diversion of Funds to Build his Border Wall
The opinion was written by prominent conservative Judge David Sentelle.
Rand Paul, Tulsi Gabbard, Thomas Massie, Ron Wyden Join Forces To Unplug the President's 'Internet Kill Switch'
Under the broad terms of a 1934 federal law, the president has the authority to seize emergency control of almost any electronic device in the country.
John Yoo: The Man Who Would Make the President King
The Trump presidency has been a stress test for maximalist theories of presidential power.
Biden and Trump Now Agree: The President Has No Authority To Impose a Nationwide Mask Mandate
If only that signaled a broader respect for legal limits on executive power.
Trump Administration Formally Bans TikTok, WeChat Apps From Online Stores in U.S.
There’s nothing good about censoring communication platforms citizens want to use.
USA Today Op ed Making the Case for Abolishing the Constitutional Requirement that the President Must be a "Natural Born" Citizen
I coauthored it with Harvard Law School Professor Randall Kennedy.
The Messy TikTok Sale Is What Happens When Governments Get Involved in Social Media
Plus: More red states may get legal weed, antitrust action against Google expected this week, the Cuties controversy, and more...
Court Thwarts Trump's Attempt To Exclude Undocumented Immigrants From Census
Plus: Raleigh cop uses fake evidence in drug cases, caution on CDC study linking restaurants to COVID-19 cases, and more...
Massachusetts Abandons Its Puzzling Public Health Distinction Between Casinos and Video Arcades
A week after being sued over his arbitrary COVID-19 policy, Gov. Charlie Baker says he will allow arcades to reopen.
More Ideas that Can Help Repair and Extend the Rule of Law
These proposals augment those made in Paul Rosenzweig and Vishnu Kannan's important recent article on the subject.
Repairing the Rule of Law: A Post-Trump Agenda
A list of reforms to help restore the rule of law in a post-Trump Washington.
Thoughts on Trump's Potential Plan to Cut Federal Grants to "Anarchist Jurisdictions"
For the moment, the executive "memorandum" is long on rhetoric, but short on actual action. If it ever does lead to action, it could be yet another attack on federalism and separation of powers.
Pat Toomey on CDC Eviction Moratorium: 'The Legal Authority Is a Real Stretch'
The Trump administration's new nationwide eviction moratorium provokes a backlash from some congressional Republicans.
Trump's Eviction Moratorium Could set a Dangerous Precedent [Updated]
It's a power grab that could undermine federalism and separation of powers, and imperil property rights.
Trump Pardons Inmate-Turned-Activist Jon Ponder and Praises 'Second Chances'
"I will continue to give all Americans, including former inmates, the best chance to build a new life and achieve their own American dream," Trump said.
Mike Godwin, the Creator of Godwin's Law, Is Suing Trump Over His TikTok Executive Order
"I know what moral panics look like; they look kind of like this."
Susan Rice Tries To Turn Possible Snowden Pardon Into Attack on GOP
All the worst people are still mad he blew the whistle on government snooping.
All the President's Papers
A preliminary assessment of Trump v. Mazars and Trump v. Vance.
Rejecting Biden's Threat of a Nationwide Mask Mandate, Trump Suddenly Respects Limits on Presidential Power
Both major parties defend the Constitution only when it's convenient.
Michigan Governor Issues Executive Order To Enforce Her Other COVID-19 Executive Orders
Redundancy with an iron fist
Trump's Executive Disorder
The next Democratic president will be all too happy to govern by pen and phone too, say the Reason Roundtable podcasters.
Trump's Latest Executive Actions Are Likely Ineffective and Possibly Unconstitutional
Plus: Hong Kong police arrest pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai, Portland demonstrators set fire to police union headquarters, protests erupt against "Europe's last dictator," and more...
Trump's TikTok, WeChat Ban Won't End Up Blocking Fortnite and League of Legends
An ambiguous presidential order affecting a Chinese company connected to several popular video games sows confusion.
Trump Is Trying To Take Away Americans' Access to Popular Apps by Executive Order
Plus: the latest unemployment numbers, Biden apologizes for comment on diversity, Ohio governor gets flip-flopping COVID-19 results, and more…
Trump's Naked Megalomania Continues a Bipartisan Trend
Will his blunt self-aggrandizement reinvigorate concerns about presidents who exceed their powers?
Trump's Warnings About Voting by Mail Mix Reasonable Concerns With Fanciful Conspiracy Theories
New York City's primary election fiasco reveals gross incompetence rather than fraud.
Department of Homeland Security
The Headless Department of Homeland Security
The lack of Senate-confirmed officers at DHS is a serious problem.
Chamber of Commerce and Other Employer Groups File Lawsuit Challenging Trump's Employment Visa Ban
The lawsuit raises a variety of important issues, including a nondelegation challenge. It could turn out to be a very significant case.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Wants President Donald Trump To Impose a Nationwide Face Mask Mandate
Whitmer's argument is short on facts and legal reasoning.
Trump Deploys Lawlessness Against Lawlessness
The president’s heavy-handed response to protests against police brutality belies his promise of "law and order."
Betraying Trump, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch Stay Loyal to the Law
Two centuries of precedents say the president is not immune from judicial process.
Should Schools Be Fully Reopened in the Fall?
The Reason Roundtable weighs in on the latest coronavirus policy debate.
President Trump's Use of the Pardon Power
An analysis finds that Trump is both more stingy and more self-serving than his predecessors in how he has used the pardon power to date
Trump Commutes Ally Roger Stone's Prison Sentence
Stone was set to report to federal prison to serve 40 months for lying to Congress and witness tampering.
Roberts, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh Reject Trump's Assertion of 'Absolute Immunity' From State Criminal Subpoenas
The Supreme Court weighs the legality of subpoenaing Trump’s financial records.
BREAKING: Supreme Court Decides Trump Financial Records Cases and Fate of Eastern Oklahoma (Updated)
The Supreme Court rejected Donald Trump's claims of immunity, but reaffirmed limits on investigatory powers, and ruled in favor of Native American tribal claims against Oklahoma.
Supreme Court Rules Against Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Says Agency's Format 'Clashes With Constitutional Structure'
SCOTUS rules 5–4 in Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
My New Atlantic Article on Trump's Coronavirus Immigration Bans
The article explains why these policies, which made made America more closed to immigration than at any previous time in history, are both harmful and a dangerous executive power grab.
Forbes Interview on How to Limit Presidential Power Over Immigration
In it I explain how to reform a federal law the Supreme Court has interpreted as giving the president nearly unlimited power to ban migrants from entering the United States.
Violent Protests in 1968 Helped Elect Richard Nixon. Will Today's Protests Help Trump?
Princeton's Omar Wasow talks about the complicated effects of civil rights demonstrations, police brutality, and racial fears on public policy.
