Elon Musk, Who Supposedly Is Running DOGE, Is Not Officially in Charge of Anything
The presidential adviser's lack of formal authority complicates his cost-cutting mission.
Executive Branch
Trump's ICE Detains Afghans Who Helped U.S. Forces
A former Afghan intelligence officer who worked alongside U.S. forces sought safety in America. Now, under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, his parole has been revoked, and he’s been detained without explanation.
The Sunny Side of Donald Trump's Power Grabs
The president is positioning himself to have much greater control over a smaller, enfeebled federal bureaucracy.
Trump Will Create 520,000 More Illegal Immigrants by Undoing Haitians' Protected Status
The move effectively retcons J.D. Vance's claim that legal Haitian immigrants were actually here illegally.
The Progressive Betrayal of Trans Americans
How well-intentioned laws created new cultural conflicts—and eroded personal liberty
Best Executive Order Yet?
Plus: The Democratic Party's insecurities, protesting Trump via interpretive dance, the Yosemite locksmith, and more...
Has the Imperial Presidency Arrived?
There's little question that Trump is taking the concept of the imperial presidency to its apogee.
Trump Has Good Reason To Complain About Limits on His Ability To Fire Executive Officers
His position is grounded in concerns about the separation of powers that presidents of both major parties have raised for many years.
The New Captain America Film Has Important Lessons for Trump and Biden Stans
In Captain America: Brave New World, a power-hungry president makes reckless choices and withholds vital information—but even he looks competent compared to Biden and Trump.
Presidents Should Not Ignore Court Rulings
Vice President J.D. Vance believes presidents can ignore the courts in some situations. Are we heading for a constitutional crisis?
Two Injunctions Against Trump's Citizenship Decree Expose the Weakness of His Arguments
Federal judges in Washington and Maryland say the president's attack on birthright citizenship flouts the 14th Amendment and 127 years of judicial precedent.
John Cochrane: How Will DOGE 'Disrupt' the Government?
Stanford economist John Cochrane discusses DOGE, tariffs, and what it will take to prevent a debt crisis.
Trump Is Flat-Out Lying About the 60 Minutes Interview With Harris
The full transcript shows the president's complaints about the editing of the interview are not just wildly hyperbolic and legally groundless. They are demonstrably false.
FBI Nominee Kash Patel, Who Vowed To 'Come After' Trump's Enemies, Disclaims 'Retributive Actions'
At his confirmation hearing, the president's pick to run the nation's leading law enforcement agency ran away from his record as a MAGA zealot.
Challenge Trump's Tariffs Under the Nondelegation and Major Questions Doctrines
Recent Supreme Court precedent suggests such challenges might prevail, though success is not guaranteed.
Why Is Paramount So Keen To Settle Trump's Laughable Lawsuit Against CBS?
The company is worried that the president's complaints about a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris could block a pending merger.
Trump's Role Model McKinley Tariffed His Way to Imperialism
Reviving the Monroe Doctrine and 19th century Republican adventurism is not a shortcut to peace.
Biden's Record-Breaking Regulatory Run
In four years, Biden issued regulations costing an estimated $1.8 trillion, by far the highest total in American history.
Trump's TikTok Reprieve Won't Fix the Law's Free Speech Problems
Extending the deadline gives TikTok a temporary lifeline, but the real issue—government overreach in tech and speech regulation—still needs a congressional fix.
Julia Gelatt: What Happens if Trump 'Seals the Border'?
Demographer Julia Gelatt of the Migration Policy Institute joins Just Asking Questions to discuss the likely effects of the president's executive orders on immigration.
Trump Expands School Choice, Narrows What Schools Can Teach
Trump signed two executive orders expanding federal funding of school choice while banning "radical indoctrination" in federally funded schools.
Is Humphrey's Executor in the Crosshairs?
Firing members of "independent" agencies would seem to set up a direct challenge to a longstanding precedent.
Was It Legal for Trump to Fire Seventeen Inspectors General Without Notice?
Jack Goldsmith offers his analysis.
Trump's Citizenship Decree Signals His Willingness To Flout the Constitution
The executive order contradicts the 14th Amendment and 127 years of judicial precedent.
My New Just Security Article On Trump's "Invasion" Executive Order and its Dangerous Implications
The article explains why the order is unconstitutional and why letting it stand would be very dangerous, including for the civil liberties of US citizens.
Trump Tries To Fire Inspectors General, Likely Violating Federal Law
A law passed in 2022 requires the president to give Congress a "substantive rationale" for removing inspectors general. Trump has not done that.
Trump's Orders Feature Nonexistent Emergencies, Illegal Power Grabs, and Blatant Inconsistencies
But at least he restored respect for a tariff-loving predecessor by renaming a mountain.
The Problem With Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order
Former Rep. Justin Amash explains why President Donald Trump's interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment is wrong.
Trump Reportedly Preparing an Executive Order Banning Federal Funding of Gain-of-Function Research
The past three administrations have tried to limit gain-of-function research. The second Trump administration might be the first one to be successful at doing so.
Federal Judge Blocks Trump's 'Blatantly Unconstitutional' Birthright Citizenship Executive Order
“I can’t remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one is,” said Judge John C. Coughenour.
How Trump Could Unilaterally Place Tariffs on Mexico and Canada
They are allied countries with which the U.S. has a trade deal (a deal negotiated by Trump, no less), but presidential emergency powers are nearly limitless.
Trump's Aggressively Broad Executive Order on Transgender People
Like many of his other "Day 1" decrees, the order seems more concerned with scoring points in the culture war than advancing sensible policy.
The Country's Largest Police Union, Which Repeatedly Endorsed Trump, Is Dismayed by His Capitol Riot Pardons
The Fraternal Order of Police mistakenly thought that the president "supports our law enforcement officers" and "has our backs."
Stargate: Artificial Superintelligence in 4 Years?
The dawn of a new golden age?
With Executive Order Avalanche, Trump Continues Trend Toward a Monarchical Presidency
We have too much rule by decree by whoever currently holds the office of president and a pen.
Biden and Trump Show Presidents How To Abuse Clemency
Biden’s preemptive pardons and Trump’s blanket relief for Capitol rioters both set dangerous precedents.
Donald Trump's Chaotic and Contradictory Day 1
Plus: A listener asks the editors about the validity of using emergency measures to restrict movement during the L.A. wildfires.
Trump's Blanket Clemency for Capitol Rioters Excuses Political Violence
The president drew no distinction between people who merely entered the building and people who vandalized it or assaulted police officers.
Can Trump Rename the Gulf of Mexico With an Executive Order?
The most important thing in any name is not what some official institution or a collection of old maps says. Spontaneous order tends to rule the day.
Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order Doesn't Just Apply to Undocumented Immigrants
Children could be denied citizenship even if their parents are here completely legally.
Trump Must Choose: Tariffs or Lower Prices
Domestic deregulation will decrease the cost of living. Trade barriers will do the opposite.
Day 1
Plus: Pardoning the Proud Boys, revoking birthright citizenship, Elon Musk's not-a-Nazi-salute, and more...
Biden's Preemptive Pardons Undermine Official Accountability and the Rule of Law
His last-minute acts of clemency invite Trump and future presidents to shield their underlings from the consequences of committing crimes in office.
