Battle of the Branches

In Trump v. CASA, the Supreme Court decided a technical question of judicial relief that has big implications for the separation of powers, the role of the courts, and executive power. It limited what are called “universal injunctions,” where a federal court invalidates executive action everywhere, not just for the people who brought a case. What is the legal justification for this decision? What...

Do we have a free and robust public forum for ideas in America today? What has the government done to try to influence that public forum, and where does the Constitution’s protection for freedom of speech come in? Can the party in power pressure private companies, social media companies, or universities to favor its views? Do the same problems arise from private pressures to toe the party line? An...

The federal government employs millions of people across a huge range of subjects. Who is in charge of them? Does the President, and the White House, ultimately have total control over the entire executive branch? Or are there aspects of the bureaucracy that are, or should be, outside of presidential control?  To try to find out the answers to those questions. I’m here with two of my colleagues at...

Can democracies fall? What does it look like when they start to slide? What are the tipping points? These are some of the big questions I find myself asking as I look at a wave of unsettling changes in government around the world – and wonder whether it has happened here in the past or will happen here in the future. What are the key ingredients in democracy – indeed, what exactly is democracy, an...

When it comes to conflicts and diplomacy abroad: Who holds the reins? That’s one of the big questions I find myself asking as I look at the news about American involvement – whether in Iran, in Ukraine, or throughout American history. What is the scope of the President’s power over war and foreign affairs? Doesn’t the Constitution constrain those powers, or give Congress the ability to constrain t...

How did we get here? That’s one of the big questions that I find myself asking today as I think about the past decade or so of our government. We’ve seen Presidents from both parties exercising broad powers—sometimes doing things I agree with, sometimes doing things I very much disagree with; sometimes provoking major political or legal controversy, and sometimes not.  How much can we learn from o...

Who checks the Executive? That’s one of the big questions that I find myself asking as I read the news, thinking about all of the things the executive branch can do, all the real “power on the ground” the President seems to have. And that’s something I’ve been thinking about for over a decade, across Presidents from both parties, as each new President takes bold actions that his supporters cheer o...