Hungary Breaks Free: How Voters Ended 16 Years of Orbán's Iron Rule
Everyone could see who, and what, was responsible for Hungary’s economic malaise.
Donald Trump
How the Iran War Could Backfire
Emma Ashford discusses Trump’s incoherent Iran strategy, the failures of post–Cold War foreign policy, and why a multipolar world limits American power.
The FTC's Probe of Media Matters for America Is a Blatant Assault on Freedom of Speech
In the guise of investigating "potentially unlawful advertiser boycotts," the commission is punishing the organization for its views.
Trump's Reaction to the Jesus Flap Compounds Concerns About His Mental Acuity
The president claims he was oblivious to the picture's blasphemous implications, which is troubling if true.
Paramount's Acquisition of Warner Bros. Wouldn't Be the End of Hollywood or Press Freedom
While there are legitimate antitrust concerns regarding the merger, doomsday predictions are unwarranted.
A Federal Judge Dismisses Trump's Defamation Lawsuit Against The Wall Street Journal
Trump's failure to properly allege "actual malice" is consistent with his long history of filing shaky legal claims against people who say things he does not like.
Federal Reserve: Without Tariffs, Inflation Would Have Dropped to Pre-Pandemic Levels During 2025
New study finds that tariffs were responsible for the "entirety of the excess inflation in the core goods category."
See Ya, Swalwell
Plus: Iranian negotiations fail, the U.S. blockades Iranian ports, the president picks a fight with the pope, and more...
Trump Responds to Iranian Blockade of Strait of Hormuz By Blockading It
After walking out of peace talks in Pakistan, the U.S. and Iran are now playing a game of chicken.
Thoughts on Today's Oral Argument in the Section 122 Tariff Cases
The outcome is unclear. But the judges seemed skeptical of the Trump Administration's claims that Section 122 grants them sweeping tariff powers.
In New Tariff Cases, Trump Asserts 'Unreviewable' Power To Invent a Balance-of-Payments Deficit
The Court of International Trade is weighing the legality of the import taxes that the president wants to impose under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.
A.I. NIMBYs
Plus: Bitcoin tolls at the Strait, Trump vs. MAGA, inflation rises, and more...
Would U.S. Wildlife Laws Turn Greenland's Hunters Into Criminals?
Greenlandic hunters fear a U.S. takeover because Americans "think whales and seals are cute and shouldn’t be hunted."
FBI Goes After Whistleblower Who Helped Unmask the 'Fort Bragg Cartel'
The feds have arrested an Army staffer who spoke to a journalist for a book about special operations. The journalist says it's retaliation for exposing corruption.
Trump's New Budget—Which Proposes $1.5 Trillion for Defense—Is Unserious. You Should Still Take It Seriously.
It would be easy to wave it away and move on. But that's how the U.S. got in such a dire fiscal situation.
Lindsey Graham Says the President Can Start a War, but Only Congress Can End It
The feeling is perfectly consistent: Graham feels it should be as easy as possible for the U.S. to start a war, and as hard as possible to end one.
Trump v. Second Amendment: The Administration Is Trying To Selectively Apply Gun Rights
Trump and his underlings seem less inclined to worry about the Second Amendment when it protects people outside the MAGA coalition.
Has the Iran War Ceasefire Already Ceased?
Both sides claim that they’ve agreed to stop fighting and open the Strait of Hormuz, but the fighting is still happening and Hormuz is still closed.
Viktor Orbán and His American Apologists All Deserve To Lose
J.D. Vance in Budapest: 'We have got to get Viktor Orbán reelected as Prime Minister of Hungary, don't we?'
Our Amicus Brief in the Section 122 Tariff Case
I submitted the brief on behalf of the Cato Institute and myself.
Trump Is Openly Targeting Innocent Civilians
He's using tools that were advertised as humane, but he isn't hiding the cruelty involved.
Viktor Orban's Hungary Exemplifies the Perils of Nationalism
As a new analysis by Johan Norberg shows, the regime many MAGA Republicans see as a model to emulate has repressed civil liberties, undermined the free market, destroyed the rule of law, and made Hungary the poorest nation in the European Union.
Why Does Trump Want the Biggest Defense Budget Ever?
Plus: Trump’s budget ignores the deficit, NASA’s Artemis program faces delays and rising costs, and a listener asks about libertarian alternatives to Medicare for All.
With His Grandiose White House Ballroom Plan, Trump Again Asserts the Power To Do As He Pleases
"No statute comes close to giving the President the authority he claims to have," U.S. District Judge Richard Leon concluded when he enjoined the project.
Trump's College Sports Executive Order Adds Chaos to an Already Wild Legal War
Plus: Fox and Sinclair go crying to the FCC over sports streaming, and the Masters ticket lottery makes it too hard to get in
'I Am Blowing Up Everything'
Plus: There is no exit strategy in Iran, Artemis II approaches the Moon, federal taxpayers get to beautify D.C., and more...
Nationwide Injunctions, a Crucial Check on Presidential Power, Are Not Dead Yet
Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden asked the Supreme Court to abolish nationwide injunctions, which allow federal judges to stop a federal policy from going into effect.
Birthright Citizenship as a Second-Best Policy
I oppose Trump's efforts to deny birthright citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants. But birthright citizenship is not the ideal policy.
The Labor Department Just Freed Contractors—Again. Congress Still Needs To Act.
The government's new rule reverses a Biden-era anti-contracting directive and returns to a more contractor-friendly posture. But will this tug of war ever end?
Trump Realized He Can Just Do Things. Who Can Stop Him?
There are far too few checks left on executive power.
Trump's Answer to Iran's Hormuz Crisis: Sell Oil We Don't Have
The administration claims we're a "net oil exporter," but unfortunately that's not quite true.
Bye-Bye, Bondi
Plus: pro-tech media sells to big tech, Trump's new tariffs, jobs numbers, and more...
Pam Bondi's Loyalty to Trump Wasn't Enough To Save Her Job
Ultimately, Bondi's fulsome defense of the president could not overcome blowback over her handling of the Epstein files.
Birthright Citizenship, Noem Family Circus, and Project Hail Mary
A wide-ranging episode of Freed Up covering foreign policy, legal battles, internet stupidity, airport misery, and a few unexpectedly spirited culture debates.
Gorsuch, Barrett, and Roberts Raise Fatal Objections to Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order
Understanding the Supreme Court’s oral arguments in Trump v. Barbara.
On 'Liberation Day,' Trump Promised a Manufacturing Boom. The Data Tell a Different Story.
More than 89,000 manufacturing workers lost their jobs in the past year as tariffs caused input prices to rise and squeezed blue-collar industries.
A Year After 'Liberation Day,' Trump's Tariffs Will Never Be Legitimate Without a Vote in Congress
The Trump administration keeps trying to find legal loopholes, but the will of the people is the final judge of any major policy.
Trump's Mercurial, Constantly Changing Import Taxes Took American Businesses on a Wild Ride
There was little rhyme or reason to the president's "emergency" tariffs, which fluctuated wildly depending on his mood.
Trump Bullying Allies To Help in Iran Suggests He Knows the War Is Not Going Well
NATO allies aren’t obligated to join the war. The sooner Trump accepts that, the better.
Trump Keeps Taking Equity Shares of Private Companies. A New GOP Bill Would Codify the Practice.
The bill would not only codify Trump's actions into law, it would establish a framework for both this and future administrations to do it too.
Slavery, Birthright Citizenship, and Today's Upcoming Supreme Court Oral Argument
The administration's arguments for denying birthright ctizenship to children of undocumented immigrants are at odds with the main purpose of the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Unless People Support Me, Trump Habitually Warns, 'We Won't Have a Country Anymore'
The president's predictions of the nation's imminent demise reflect his narcissistic authoritarianism.
10 Years Ago Today, Trump Promised To Eliminate the National Debt. Instead, It Has Doubled.
Trump's ridiculous, grandiose promise tells us something about the federal government's fiscal affairs and the president's approach to policy.
Seattle University "Dean's Luminaries in Law" Interview on Immigration, Invasion, the Tariff Case, and More
I was interviewed by Seattle University Law School of Law Dean Tony Varona and Prof. Andrew Siegeil.
Trump's Unconstitutional Attack on Birthright Citizenship Finally Reaches the Supreme Court
Understanding the stakes in Trump v. Barbara.
Trump's 'Military Operation' Wordplay Can't Hide Iran War
A war by any other name must still be authorized by Congress.
Government Actions Against Anthropic Are 'Classic First Amendment Retaliation'
Plus: the Facebook verdicts, porn star chatbots, facial recognition gone awry, drag queen regulation, and more…
Trump Is Getting His Way in Latin America. But Bully Tactics Have a Cost—and the Bill Is Coming Due.
A brash bid to reassert U.S. dominance is delivering short-term wins. But a region tired of being pushed around may not stay compliant for long.
