D.C. Circuit Upholds the Bump Stock Ban, Saying It Is Consistent With the 'Best Interpretation' of the Law
It is hard to see how, given the contortions required to deliver the unilateral prohibition that Donald Trump demanded.
Executive Branch
Cato Supreme Court Review Article on the Supreme Court's January 2022 Vaccine Mandate Decisions
I am one of the relatively few people who think the Court got both cases right.
R.I.P. David McCullough, Who Saw the Bright Side of History
McCullough didn't just build on academic historians' work—he filled a gap they left.
The 5th Circuit Considers Whether the Trump Administration Was Legally Authorized To Ban Bump Stocks
Regulators imposed the ban based on a highly implausible and counterintuitive reading of federal law.
If You Care About Democracy, Don't Ask Biden To Invoke Emergency Powers
Implementing policy is supposed to be difficult given that it could affect millions of people’s lives.
Trump and Steve Bannon Waive Executive Privilege they do not Have
The "waiver" opens the door for Bannon to testify before the congressional January 6 Committee. But former presidents are not entitled to executive privilege, and especially not when it comes to testimony by private citizens.
Biden Issues Executive Order Designed To Protect Abortion Access
The abortion wars have entered a new phase.
Supreme Court Ruling in "Remain in Mexico" Case is a Win for Biden, Migrants - and Fans of Presidential Power
The ruling likely allows end of a cruel policy - but also reinforces broad presidential control over immigration.
As Pride Month Nears End, LGBT Political Culture Warring Escalates
You’d think drag brunches are why we’re paying $6 a gallon for gas.
The Defense Production Act Has Become a License for Central Planning
If home insulation is a "critical technology item essential to the national defense," then what isn't?
The 10th Anniversary of DACA
A compendium of my writings defending the morality and legality of this program - but also warning that it remains imperiled unless and until Congress passes a law institutionalizing it.
Today Marks 80 Years Since Congress Last Bothered To Declare a War
Presidents once treated congressional authorization as a requirement for the U.S. to enter conflicts. What went wrong?
New Resolution Would Allow the President To Send U.S. Troops to Ukraine
Like AUMFs before it, Rep. Adam Kinzinger’s proposed authorization would lead to less transparency in conflicts and more unilateral decision making.
Biden Begins Using Clemency To Ameliorate the Damage Done by the Draconian Drug Policies He Long Supported
The 75 commutations announced today, while impressive compared to the pitiful records of previous presidents, pale beside a huge backlog of petitions.
COVID Revealed America To Be a Nation of Rulers, Not of Laws
Life is returning to "normal" after two years, but that normal includes even fewer limits on executive powers.
My New Article on "Nondelegation Limits on COVID Emergency Powers: Lessons from the Eviction Moratorium and Title 42 Cases"
The eviction moratorium and Title 42 "public health" expulsion cases have many parallels that may have been ignored because of their differing ideological valence. Both strengthen the case for nondeferential judicial review of the exercise of emergency powers.
Progressive Lawmakers Ask Joe Biden To Do Their Jobs for Them With Executive Orders
Someone might want to remind them that Democrats have a majority in both congressional chambers.
Hey, Republicans: Stop Coddling Crazies and Puckering Up to Putin
Republican idiocy is setting back the cause of freedom.
Washington Legislature Won't Limit Gov. Jay Inslee's Indefinite, Dictatorial COVID Emergency Powers
Then why even have a legislature?
Sanctions Won't Defeat Russia
Plus, hear the Reason editors' response to President Biden's SOTU.
Biden Still Wants Government Interfering in All Areas of Life
Inspiring support for Ukrainian freedom is undermined by the remainder of the president’s agenda.
The Right To Bear Arms Is Still a Check on Tyranny
Ukrainians have taken to the streets with arms to defend their country and their freedom.
The Stossel State of the Union
"If I do my job right, you should barely know I'm here."
Biden's Protectionist Trade Agenda Will Increase Prices. In Fact, It Already Has.
Biden says reducing prices is his "top priority" but his economic agenda suggests the opposite.
Biden's State of the Union Highlights Absurd Reach of Federal Government
Plus: Facebook blocks and free speech, Elizabeth Warren is wrong about cryptocurrency (again), and more...
Criminal Justice Campaign Promises Absent From Biden's State of the Union Speech
More than a year into the Biden administration, promises to expand clemency, decriminalize marijuana, and end solitary confinement and the federal death penalty remain unfulfilled.
Biden's State of the Union Offers More Useless Solutions to Gun Violence
Biden offered a mix of mostly pointless or arguably unconstitutional "solutions" to the misuse of guns by criminals.
If COVID-19 Is Over for Congress, It Should Be Over for School Children Too
Attendees at Biden's State of the Union speech were almost entirely unmasked.
Biden Says No Troops to Ukraine, Is Silent on Ukrainian and Russian Refugees
Biden was right to reinforce that American soldiers shouldn't be fighting in Ukraine. But he missed a valuable opportunity to outline immigration measures for Ukrainians and Russians.
Biden Praises Ukrainian 'Iron Will', Refuses To Use Ukrainian Iron in Infrastructure Projects
The president touted his support of cost-increasing 'Buy America' requirements for American infrastructure projects.
Biden Tries To Twist His Domestic Agenda Into a Form Joe Manchin Will Support
Biden made some vague promises about deficit reduction during Tuesday's State of the Union address. They don't add up.
What Biden Can Learn from Eisenhower's 1957 State of the Union
The world's conscience had been shocked by Russia's recent invasion of a sovereign European state. Ike responded with sober, long-game containment in Europe...and more reckless escalation in the Middle East.
Biden Administration Deflects Blame on America's Self-Inflicted Ocean Shipping Problems
Guess whose fault it is that it’s so expensive to ship goods to America? (Spoiler: The U.S. government's.)
Russia Is Getting Canceled
Plus: Remembering life before smartphones, Biden's SOTU may pay lip service to deficit hawks, and more...
Utah Governor To Veto School Choice Bill Unless His Demands Are Met
Gov. Spencer Cox supports school choice but will only sign the bill once Utah pays teachers more than any other state.
Has the Russian Invasion of Ukraine Already Begun?
Plus: CDC withholds data, court upholds nutritionist licensing, Ottawa police break up Freedom Convoy, and more...
New York State Supreme Court Judge Strikes Down Statewide Mask Mandate
The New York State Supreme Court ruled that Governor Hochul and the health commissioner did not have the authority to mandate a masking requirement
Starbucks Rescinds Employee COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
Starbucks has decided the vaccine mandate isn't good for their business
In the Case That Blocked OSHA's Vaccine Mandate, the Justices Disagreed About When COVID-19 Counts As a Workplace Hazard
The crux of the argument is the distinction "between occupational risk and risk more generally."
Divided Sixth Circuit Panel Refuses to Stay Injunction Against Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors
The panel rejects the argument that the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act allows the federal government to require vaccination for nearly one-fifth of the American workforce.
Colorado Gov. Polis Commutes 110-Year Sentence for Trucker in Deadly Crash, Pardons Hundreds of Marijuana Convictions
Rogel Aguilera-Mederos faced harsh punishment under the state’s mandatory minimum sentences for insisting on the right to a trial.
George Will Loves To Argue About America
The octogenarian columnist has a lot to say about happiness and history in the United States.
Would an Independent Commission Solve the Clemency Backlog?
A new bill would transfer the review of petitions from the Justice Department to a presidentially appointed board.
D.C. Circuit Rejects Trump Effort to Block Release of Documents to January 6 Committee
Will the Supreme Court step in?
District Court Issues National Injunction Against Biden Administration Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors
Two federal district courts have now ruled against the mandate for federal contractors.
De Blasio's New York Shouldn't Treat Unvaccinated Kids as Second-Class Citizens
Requiring kids as young as 5 to either get vaccinated or stay home is not as smart or as necessary as de Blasio claims.
Thousands Beg President Joe Biden for Mercy as He Pardons a Couple of Turkeys
The annual photo op takes on cruel undertones as drug offenders continue to suffer under harsh federal prison sentences.
