Trump and Congress Have a Right and a Duty To Kill the Department of Education
The feds have no constitutional authorization to meddle in education.
Politics
Brickbats: April 2025
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world.
Trump Cruelly Terminates Program for Legal Migrants Fleeing Communist Tyranny, and Seeks to Deport them
The Administration ended the CHNV "parole" program for 530,000 migrants from four Latin American nations, including three ruled by authoritarian socialist regimes. They will soon be subject to deportation.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Corner crossing, prison typewriting, and an interview with Webster Bivens.
Pesky Judges
Courts stop DOGE from accessing Social Security Administration data and prevent Homeland Security from deporting Georgetown fellow Badar Khan Suri.
Gavin Newsom Should Work on Governing Rather Than Podcasting
California once was the state where a visionary might start up a gee-whiz concept in a garage. Now bureaucrats and powerful unions would crush that concept in its infancy.
One Federal Clause Allows DOGE To Cancel Contracts at Will
The Federal Acquisition Regulation requires the right for the government to terminate any federal contract "for convenience."
Chuck Schumer Thinks Only Republicans Hate Paying Taxes
The Senate minority leader mocked anti-tax, anti-government views held by most Americans.
Brian Doherty: The Fascinating Women and Weirdos Who Founded Libertarianism
Reason Senior Editor Brian Doherty explores the evolution of libertarian thought in his new book.
Back to Work
Plus: Who's in charge of DOGE, protests over Israel's renewed assault on Gaza, and a tribute to the life of Manuel Klausner.
The Feds' Legal Arguments for These Deportations Are Laughably Weak
A Trump administration official admits that there is little specific evidence tying some deportees to any crime—and argues that the lack of evidence should be taken as proof of criminality.
Lawn-Sign Liberalism vs. Supply-Side Progressivism
"Supply-side progressives" like Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson are ultimately technocrats, not libertarians. But they recognize that more is better than less and that a good society is not zero-sum.
AI Isn't Destabilizing Elections
Researchers analyzed political content made with artificial intelligence and found much of it was not deceptive at all.
Is Trump's Trade War Causing a Recession?
The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow forecast plunged into recessionary territory, stocks wiped out $4 trillion in value, and consumers are pulling back. How long will Washington ignore the warning signs?
Allies Cancel Orders of F-35s, the Fighter Jets That Will Cost $2 Trillion
The U.S., in turn, should cancel the F-35 program altogether.
New Income Tax Proposal Is Progressive and Unworkable
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says the Trump administration wants to eliminate income taxes for those making $150,000 or less—an unprecedented shift with major consequences.
First They Came For…
Plus: Democrats' filibuster hypocrisy, Trump bombs Yemen, March Madness, and more...
Pandemic Lockdowns Made the World Ruder
The new, coarser world will likely be with us for years to come.
A Mother's Complaint
"Something always seemed off and not quite right with the way my children's grades and GPA were displayed .... [M]y children [were] overlooked for school awards, academic scholarships and grant opportunities that they otherwise would have been eligible for, the opportunity to be valedictorian, salutatorian ...."
The Bondi Sentencing Memorandum Has Important Implications in the Criminal Prosecution of Boeing
The Justice Department's new guidance requiring prosecutors to disclose to a sentencing judge all relevant facts should require that, in any new plea deal, Boeing must acknowledge that it directly and proximately killed 346 people.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Intellectual strait jackets, vulgar language, and dodging judicial inquiry.
Schumer's Big Break
Plus: Rate reductions, Apple encryption, the Mahmoud Khalil case, and more...
Are Democrats Regretting Trying To Out-Hawk Trump?
Rep. Adam Smith (D–Wash.) thinks Democrats should return to their antiwar roots—and be open to negotiating with Russia.
Everything's Computer
Plus: "Is any criticism of the government a deportable offense?" and more...
DOE Set To Die
Plus: How NYC botched weed legalization, tuberculosis programs paused, "everything's computer!" and more...
Mahmoud Khalil, the Great Rorschach Test
Plus: Ukraine attacks Russia with drones, Newsom's revisionist history, and more...
Ecuador's Second Presidential Election of 2025
Incumbent Daniel Noboa and challenger Luisa González have different economic visions, but both support militaristic crime policies.
