A Limited Supreme Court Win for Trump on Mail-In Ballots
But the legal fighting will continue in the lower courts.
Law & Government
No Preliminary Injunction Against Applying Birth Sex Policy to Intersex Plaintiff's Global Entry Card …
when plaintiff has passport that won't expire until 2032.
Trump Imposes Harmful and Illegal Section 338 Tariffs Against Many Canadian Imports
Section 338 is a long-defunct part of the notorious Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930.
$40 Trillion and Parents' Night Out
Plus: ICE chillin', Moderna-Merck melanoma advances, and more...
Fourth Circuit Concludes South Carolina Cannot Limit "No-Excuse" Absentee Ballots to Those Over 65
An election law question that seems destined for the Supreme Court.
Congress Is Trying To Give Trump More Tariff Powers. He Wants Even More.
A bill to sanction Russia would allow the president to place 100 percent tariffs on goods from countries that buy Russian fossil fuels.
Ninth Circuit Rejects Trump Administration Acting U.S. Attorney Appointment
A persuasive opinion by Judge Eric Miller curtails the Trump Administration's attempt to color outside the lines.
Make Congress Legislate Again
There are better ways to encourage more regular lawmaking than abolishing the filibuster.
Trump Courts Another Legal Defeat on Birthright Citizenship
Less than two months after losing at SCOTUS, Trump tries again with more misguided executive orders.
As France Pauses Social Media Ban, American Lawmakers Race To Restrict the Internet
France's top court ruled that a social media ban for under-15s would infringe on free expression and privacy.
Euclidean Zoning: How Our 'Arbitrary and Oppressive' City Planning Scheme Got Its Name
Is it named after the father of geometry or a Cleveland suburb? Both.
Trump's Assault on Judicial Review Undermines a Crucial Safeguard Against Tyranny
In one case after another, the president has tried to cut the courts out of the picture painted by the Framers.
Trump Promised Transparency. His Administration Keeps Finding New Ways to Hide Records.
"The most transparent president in history" keeps chipping away at laws like FOIA meant to keep the government honest.
The War on Free-Range Kids Makes The New York Times
For too long, the government has acted as if any child venturing out unsupervised is in danger—and has negligent parents.
Virginia Man Argues His 'FTP&ATF' License Plate Is Free Speech. The Supreme Court Might Hear His Case.
A federal appeals court ruled that Curtis Whateley's anti-police vanity plate was private speech protected by the First Amendment. Virginia says it will seek review from the Supreme Court.
Jeff Merkley Wants To Save Big Government From Donald Trump
The Oregon senator's "For Our Republic Act" would check many of the president's abuses while preserving the powerful federal state he commands.
I Played a Game Simulating the Aftermath of the 2028 Election. Here's How It Went.
The Democratic nominee won five swing states by less than one percentage point. Then things got crazy.
America Suspended the Jones Act. Americans Were the Winners.
In under five months, waiving the protectionist law opened up whole trade routes and sent fuel to areas that needed it. Why go back?
Trump Administration Claims Executive Privilege Over White House Conversations With Private Advisers
Transparency advocates say it's the latest attempt to hide more of the executive branch's business from the public and congressional investigations.
How Much Does New York Actually Recycle? The N.Y. Comptroller Says the State Doesn't Really Know.
A comptroller audit says New York State's recycling data are unreliable.
Rob Bonta's Paramount Crusade Could Make California's Hollywood Exodus Even Worse
California's attorney general is fighting a merger that 65 countries and the DOJ already cleared. Now, the state may lose thousands of jobs.
Why Do Americans Support the Death Penalty, Despite Wrongful Convictions?
Reformers need to take into account people’s fear of crime and human predators.
The Buffalo Bills Got Tons of Taxpayer Money for a Stadium With a Lot of Pretty Lame Problems
Plus: No one is drafting Enes Kanter Freedom into the WNBA, Congress fails to reform NCAA again, and why Field of Dreams nostalgia is no good
Poindexter Ascendant
Plus: A setback for Mamdani's second-home tax, Jones Act waiver extended, Ross Douthat's final column, and more...
Texas Man Arrested After Ranting About Age Verification Laws Blocking His Anime
Did he make a true threat? Or was this just hyperbolic ranting about bad policy?
D.C. Circuit Upholds Injunction Against Trump's Ballroom
The Constitution assigns control of federal property to Congress, which never approved the president's demolition and replacement of the East Wing.
The 'Affordability' Agenda That Taxes Your Dinner
Food-related taxes are rising in popularity, though they hurt restaurants and customers—and may even fail as a revenue-raising tool.
Trump's New Birthright Citizenship Executive Orders Are Mostly Theater
The two measures combine unconstitutional provisions with performance art.
Democrats Want To Tax AI Companies for Job Losses That Haven't Happened
The proposed tax would rise with unemployment and fund a new federal jobs program—even though AI has yet to cause mass unemployment.
The White House's Push To Pause the Hemp Ban Smells Like Cronyism
The ban would gut a growing industry, but the Trump administration’s position isn’t a principled stand against prohibition.
DOGE Claimed $110 Billion in Spending Cuts That Couldn't Be Verified, Audit Finds
The DOGE project was the second Trump administration's best idea. Unfortunately, it was terribly executed.
Courts Say the Justice Department Is Shredding the 'Presumption of Regularity.' It Never Deserved Extra Trust.
Misconduct and misrepresentations by Justice Department lawyers have led some federal judges to question the traditional benefit of the doubt they give to the government.
A Major 'Online Safety' Bill Cleared a Senate Committee. More Crackdowns on Internet Freedom Could Be Coming.
The Senate Commerce committee advanced four bills related to online and AI safety in the name of protecting children.
A Federal Judge Rejects National Firearms Act Regulations, Saying Their Tax Rationale No Longer Applies
When Congress eliminated taxes on suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns, it also eliminated the constitutional justification for regulating them.
Hawaii's End Run Around Citizens United Faces a First Amendment Roadblock
A new Hawaii law reclassifies corporate political speech as a "power" the state can revoke at will.
"What the 2025-2026 Supreme Court Term Revealed About the Roberts Court"
A new podcast from the National Constitution Center
Why James Madison Wanted Greater Limits on States' Rights
The “father of the Constitution” worried about federal and state overreach.
Abdul El-Sayed Says He's Not a Socialist. His Policy Agenda Says Otherwise.
El-Sayed is pushing a mendacious claim: that people would be wealthier if they endured yet another massive transfer of money and power to a vast federal health bureaucracy.
Senators Want To Claw Back Trump's Spending Power. They Should Just Pass a Real Budget Instead.
The Senate’s funding bill stops the Trump administration from handing political appointees control over federal grants, but Congress isn’t eager to rein in spending.
My New Dispatch Article on Trump's Section 301 "Forced Labor" Tariffs
The article explains why the new tariffs are harmful and illegal for many of same reasons as those invalidated by the Supreme Court.
Elena Kagan's Warning to Progressives
The liberal justice wants the Supreme Court’s harshest progressive critics to chill out.
Prospective Legal Challenges to Trump's Section 338 Tariffs Against Canada
A guest post by Georgetown legal scholars Peter E. Harrell and Jennifer Hillman.
Todd Blanche's Concessions Underline the Flagrant Phoniness of Trump's IRS 'Settlement'
The acting attorney general confirms his dishonesty in presenting that jaw-dropping scam as the resolution of a bona fide legal dispute.
David Cole's Qualified Defense of the Supreme Court
The prominent liberal legal scholar and former ACLU leader outlines how the Court has often checked Trump, but also critiques it for going against precedent.
