Against the "Banana Republic" Critique of Indicting Trump
The real banana republic danger is if high officials can commit serious crimes with impunity.
Executive Branch
Congress Warned About Abuses of Presidential Emergency Powers
Legislators from both parties worry about unilateral power, but they use it when it’s convenient.
The Perils of 'Rule by Indefinite Emergency Edict'
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch highlights a vital lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Biden's Experience Doesn't Mean He Can Plan an Economy
No amount of experience can solve the "knowledge problem."
Trump's Disregard for the Rule of Law Is at Least As Bad As Biden's
The former president reminds us that claiming unbridled executive power is a bipartisan tendency.
Fifth Circuit Issues Administrative Stay Blocking District Court Decision Striking Down Obamacare Preventive Care Insurance Mandates
The stay is only temporary, and could be quickly lifted. But it's still a negative sign for the plaintiffs in the case.
Pacific Legal Foundation Call for Papers on Agency Adjudication
The papers are for an upcoming conference on the topic of whether federal agency adjudication of private rights should be curbed or ended. There is a $2500 honorarium for authors of selected papers.
Trump Hopes His Own Delusions Will Protect Him From Criminal Charges
The former president says he did not solicit election fraud; he merely tried to correct a "rigged" election. And he says he did not illegally retain government records, because they were his property.
Rochelle Walensky Leaves a CDC That's Far More Powerful Than When She Entered It
Under Walensky, the CDC's voluntary guidance was anything but.
Chevron Matters — But Not as Much as You Might Think
Overruling Chevron won't gut the administrative state or even severely constrain it. But it could help strengthen the rule of law.
Biden Is Pushing Federal Regulatory Powers Into Uncharted Territory
Regulations costing less than $200 million will no longer be considered "economically significant."
Greg Abbott's Pardon Promise Ignores the Shakiness of Daniel Perry's Self-Defense Claim
A Texas jury unanimously rejected Perry’s assertion that Garrett Foster pointed a rifle at him.
Feds Want to Penalize Overly Complicated Subscription Cancellations at $50,000 a Pop
A government big enough to "solve" your minor irritants will do plenty of other stuff you don't like.
Biden's First Veto Protects and Promotes ESG
What at first appears to be deregulation is actually economic activism in disguise.
A Major New Defense of the Major Questions Doctrine
Legal scholar Ilan Wurman argues the controversial doctrine is justifiable on textualist and linguistic grounds.
Biden's Plan To Unilaterally Expand Background Checks for Gun Buyers Is Legally and Logically Dubious
The president wants to redefine federally licensed gun dealers in service of an ineffective anti-crime strategy.
Biden's Attack on 'Ghost Guns' Fits a Pattern of Lawless Firearm Regulation
The president and his predecessor both tried to impose gun control by executive fiat.
A Textualist Defense of the Major Questions Doctrine
Critics claim the doctrine is obviously at odds with textualism. But that isn't the case.
Today at the Supreme Court: Biden's Student Loan Cancellation Plan on Trial
The Supreme Court considers the scope of presidential power in Biden v. Nebraska and Department of Education v. Brown.
Can the Vice President Invoke the Speech or Debate Clause Privilege at All? [Updated]
Professor Michael McConnell writes to suggest that even if Vice President Pence was performing legislative functions on January 6, the Constitution's text does not extend the privilege to him.
Showdown Over Student Loan Forgiveness Hits Supreme Court Tomorrow
Plus: Texas prosecutors can't criminally charge people who help others access out-of-state abortions, food trucks fight rules banning them in 96 percent of North Carolina city, and more...
Probing the Limits of Speech or Debate Clause Privilege for Perry and Pence
The January 6 invistigations have renewed interest in this somewhat obscure constitutional provision and the scope of its protections.
Biden Promised a Return to 'Rule of Law' Governance. His Record Says Differently.
Like his predecessors, the current president ignores the law when it suits him.
Free Immigration Is a Core American Value
Just consider the policies that the Founding Fathers embraced.
Presidents' Day Is a Good Reminder To Treat the Presidency With Skepticism
While the office was created with "modest authority and limited responsibilities," the modern president has increasingly unchecked power and authority.
Supreme Court Cancels Oral Argument in Title 42 "Public Health" Expulsion Case
The move makes it more likely that Title 42 expulsions of migrants will end in the near future.
Biden Wants To Restrict Work and Flexibility for Freelancers
Most independent contractors don’t want the PRO Act anyway.
Four Months After Biden Promised Marijuana Pardons, He Has Not Issued Any
The president reaped political benefits with his pre-election proclamation but has yet to follow through.
Is Inflation Sneakily Starting To Rise Again?
January's consumer price data indicates another drop in annual inflation, but the past three months might tell a different story.
Under No Circumstances Did Joe Biden Save Social Security
Plus: a listener question on prohibition and a lightning round on the editors' favorite Super Bowl moments
Biden's Terrible Billionaire Tax
By raising the effective tax rate on capital gains, the proposal would reduce U.S. saving, discourage entrepreneurship, and decrease economic output.
Biden's Drug Price Controls Will Kill More Patients in the Long Run
And increase total health care costs to boot.
Biden's Foolish Rush To Regulate How Kids Use Tech
Instead of empowering the government to intervene, we should look more holistically at the experience of young people online.
For Joe Biden, Competition Is Essential. Except When It Must Be Banned.
It's a fundamental contradiction that's affected the Biden administration's economic policy for the past two years.
"Third-Party Standing" Doctrine Shouldn't be Used to Block Lawsuits Challenging Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness Plan
Legal scholar Michael Dorf claims Supreme Court should rule on this basis. But the doctrine doesn't apply to this case, and is dubious anyway.
Biden's Claims About Universal Pre-K Are Malarkey
During the State of the Union, Biden claimed that "children who go to preschool are nearly 50 percent more likely to finish high school and go on to earn a two- or four-year degree," but evidence in favor of universal pre-k programs is lacking.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders' State of the Union Response Offers a Grim Glimpse of the GOP's Future
Biden's speech offered plenty of opportunity to present a counter-narrative to continued taxes and spending. Instead Sanders went a different direction.
Biden's Proposed Assault Weapon Ban Is Unconstitutional, Unlikely, and Ineffectual
As usual, Biden's gun policy proposals bump up against reality.
Biden's Foreign Policy Is Adrift
His State of the Union address sketched a foreign policy that is reckless on some points, relatively restrained on others, and utterly uninterested in any real resolution to America’s lingering military entanglements.
The Cops Who Killed Tyre Nichols Could Be Convicted of Murder and Still Get Qualified Immunity
In his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Joe Biden said that he wants to hold police "accountable." But he neglected to mention the elephant in the room.
Joe Biden, Travel Agent in Chief
Plus: Bill would make all social media platforms check IDs, appeals court rejects rent control challenge, and more...
Biden Promises To Stop Waiving His Own Terrible 'Buy American' Mandates
The president's State of the Union address re-upped a tired, old promise to spend more tax dollars on less infrastructure.
Biden Deserves Some Credit on Immigration Policy, but He Refuses To Take Responsibility Where He Should
His administration has contributed to the problems Biden says he wants to solve.
Biden Promises To Let Social Security's Ship Keep Sinking
Biden vowed to block any attempts to cut Social Security benefits, and Republicans made it clear that they have little appetite to try it.
Biden May Dream of 6 More Years, but His Three Closest Comps Never Got There
What we can learn from the State of the Union addresses by Jimmy Carter in 1979, Richard Nixon in 1971, and JFK in 1963
Republicans and Democrats Face Impasse Over Cutting Spending Versus Raising Taxes
Plus: Court denies motion to suppress January 6 geofence warrant, Texas may ban some immigrants from buying property, and more...
