Trump Is Openly Using the Presidency To Enrich the Trump Brand
And generations of allegedly anti-corruption Republicans just don't care.
Donald Trump
Hiking Tariffs on Canada, Trump Demands 'Adequate Steps' To Achieve an Impossible Drug War Goal
Canada accounts for a tiny percentage of fentanyl smuggling, which cannot be stopped by trying harder.
The War on Trans
Plus: DOGE postmortem, Mamdani's checked out, C.S. Lewis' wisdom for our digital age, and more...
Trump's War on Chocolate: 'There's No Way for Us To Source This Domestically'
American chocolatiers need imports, and tariffs help no one.
Today's Federal Circuit Oral Argument in Our Tariff Case
Outcomes are hard to predict. But the judges seemed skeptical of the administration's claim that the president has virtually unlimited power to impose tariffs.
Law Firms Take Fewer Pro Bono Clients After Trump's Unconstitutional Orders
Even though the president has lost every time the orders have come before a judge, big law firms are still hesitant to upset the king and incur his wrath.
On Sanctuary Cities, It's Trump vs. the 10th Amendment
The anticommandeering doctrine stands in the way of Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The Federal Reserve Rightly Rejects Trump's Calls for Lower Interest Rates
Maintaining the elevated federal funds rate makes borrowing more expensive, but the alternative is artificially cheap money, malinvestment, and inflation.
South Park's Trump Takedown Joins a Proud American Tradition
The cartoon’s savage Season 27 premiere puts a tiny, naked Trump in bed with Satan—and lands squarely in the American tradition of using outrageous satire to hold the powerful accountable.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's Meddling in Broadcast Journalism Contradicts His Own Avowed Views
As a minority FCC member during the Bush administration, Carr condemned government interference with newsroom decisions.
Why Does the Government Run Air Traffic Control?
Air traffic control is simply too important to leave up to the politicians.
How Sports Tickets Got So Expensive—Or Did They?
Plus: regulating college sports, forgiving baseball’s legends, and Happy Gilmore 2
Federal Court Rejects Trump Lawsuit Challenging Illinois Sanctuary Policies
The court ruled the state and local policies are protected by the Tenth Amendment.
Trump Seeks Even Higher Tariffs: 'Between 15 Percent and 50 Percent' on Imports From All Countries
The 10 percent baseline reciprocal tariff rate was bad for America; the 15 percent rate is even worse.
Norms Matter in Free, Democratic Societies
Trump's ability to shift acceptable policy debates poses dangers, given that many of the shifts obliterate political norms.
Appeals Court Rules Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order is Unconstitutional and Upholds Nationwide Injunction Against it
The court ruled that a nationwide injunction is the only way to provide complete relief to the state government plaintiffs in the case.
Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order Is Unconstitutional, Says the First Appeals Court to Consider the Issue
The judgment is not surprising, since the president's reading of the 14th Amendment contradicts its text and history, plus 127 years of Supreme Court precedent.
Meet Stephen Colbert's Biggest Fans: Congressional Democrats
When even Keith Olbermann is providing a much-needed sanity check, it says something.
Trump Doesn't Need To Fire Jerome Powell. He Needs To End America's Spending Addiction.
The executive branch wants to use the Federal Reserve as a tool to accommodate the government's frenzy of reckless borrowing.
Mark Graber on the History and Original Meaning of the Militia Act of 1903
Graber shows that the act used by Trump to federalize the California National Guard does not allow the president to take this step in response to low-level violence and disorder.
Society for the Rule of Law Webinar on "Tariffs and the Rule of Law"
I participated along with Andrew Morris of the New Civil Liberties Alliance.
Lawmakers Wonder Why a Mountain Climber Was Prosecuted for Climbing a Mountain
Two members of the House Judiciary Committee say the case against Michelino Sunseri epitomizes the overcriminalization that the president decries.
Major Orange Juice Importer Files Lawsuit Challenging Trump's Planned Brazil Tariffs
The case raises many of the same issues as our case against Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs.
Defending Its Speech-Based Deportation Policy, the Trump Administration Says 'No Such Policy Exists'
The government's gaslighting strategy suggests that federal officials are not confident about the constitutionality of punishing students for expressing anti-Israel views.
NFL Players Union Head Lloyd Howell Resigns After $2,426 in Strip Club Receipts Scrutinized
Plus: WNBA players want a raise, and Trump wants Redskins?
The Problem With the Supreme Court's 'Shadow Docket'
Plus: Did Mario Vargas Llosa write the world’s greatest political novel?
Trump Should Kill Commanders Stadium Deal, but Not Because of the Team's Name
If Trump kills the deal over the team changing its name, he'd be doing the right thing but in perhaps the most corrupt possible way.
Trump, Who Wants To 'Straighten Out the Press,' Sues The Wall Street Journal Over 'Fake' Epstein Letter
Whatever the merits of this particular defamation claim, the president has a long history of abusing the legal system to punish constitutionally protected speech.
How Trump's Travel Crackdown Is Hurting Americans at Home and Abroad
From trade wars to visa restrictions, policies aimed at foreigners are backfiring on U.S. travelers—raising costs, shrinking freedoms, and souring global goodwill.
Trump's Alien Enemies Act Deportees Sent Back to Venezuela in Shameful Hostage Deal [Updated]
After being ilegally deported and imprisoned in El Salvador, they will now be sent back to the oppressive regime they fled in the first place, in exchange for ten Americans detained by the Venezuelan government.
Federal Judge to Trump on FTC Commissioner Firing: No, You Can't Fire Whomever You Want
The ruling upholds protections afforded to officers of the "quasi legislative or quasi judicial agencies" created by Congress.
Scott Lincicome: How Much Will You Pay To 'Buy American'?
What is the relationship between Trump's tariffs and the rest of the economy?
The CEO of NPR Made the Best Case for Defunding It
The notion that NPR can somehow become unbiased is about as believable as the IRS sending you a fruit basket to commend you for filing your taxes.
Enigmas Never Age
Plus: Throuple reproduction, weight-loss drug competition, and more...
Judicial Nominee Emil Bove Can't Recall Whether He Said the DOJ Might Say 'Fuck You' To Court Orders
The alleged incident goes to the heart of the objections raised by critics who worry about Bove's respect for the rule of law.
Brazil's Rogue Court Is Receiving Global Blowback
Brazil’s judiciary has abandoned neutrality, with sweeping crackdowns on speech and political rivals. A U.S. tariff response signals the crisis has gone international.
Congress Cut $500 Billion in Energy Subsidies. That's Good—and Proof Reform Is Possible.
Green energy is promising. But subsidies distort the tax code, misallocate capital, and favor companies already in the game.
A Compelling Defense of Immigration Parole Programs
My Cato Institute colleague David Bier presented it in testimony before a congressional committee.
The Trump Administration Is Spending $130,000 To Burn $800,000 Worth of Food Meant for Hungry Children
If the president truly cares about cutting waste, he should not be paying to set taxpayer dollars on fire.
The Trump Administration Defends the Federal Ban on Interstate Handgun Sales
In response to a Second Amendment lawsuit, the government says the restriction "serves legitimate objectives" and "only modestly burdens" the right to arms.
Trump and Mamdani Battle for the Populist Crown
Tune in on July 15 at 6:20 p.m. Eastern to hear four co-hosts' unflinching critiques of the latest in politics, culture, and whatever fresh hell awaits us all.
MAGA's Epstein Files Fight Shows the Long Tail of QAnon
Like sex trafficking panic more broadly, the Epstein files are a useful political tool—as long as they remain hidden.
Americans Want Order, not Cruelty, at the Border
Trump promised to target violent criminals. He lost support when he went after harmless immigrants.
Defending the Court of International Trade Ruling Against Trump's Tariffs—A Reply to Estreicher and Babbitt [Updated]
Estreicher and Babbitt are right to conclude that Trump's tariffs violate the nondelegation doctrine, but wrong to reject other arguments against them.
The Class Action Threat to Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order
Plus: A fond farewell to Black Sabbath.
There's Probably No 'Smoking Gun' in the JFK or Epstein Cases. We Should Be Allowed To Look Anyway.
You don't need to uncover a vast conspiracy to find valuable revelations—and without transparency, you don't know what revelations might be there.
Federal Court Rules Against Racial Profiling in "Roving" Immigration Enforcement Raids
Racial profiling is a longstanding problem, exacerbated by Trump Administration deportation policies.
Missouri Harasses AI Companies Over Chatbots Dissing Glorious Leader Trump
AI chatbots failed to "rank the last five presidents from best to worst, specifically regarding antisemitism," in a way that Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey likes.
