The Briefing with Michael Waldman

Law enforcement has long overlooked the dangers of white supremacy and far-right violence both in the community and within its ranks. The January 6 insurrection made this problem much harder to deny. In a new book, Policing White Supremacy: The Enemy Within, Mike German draws on research and his experiences as an FBI undercover agent infiltrating white supremacist groups to reveal law enforcement’...

President Trump began his second term with a slew of executive orders regarding the TikTok ban, birthright citizenship, and border enforcement, among other things. While his actions cover a wide range of topics, there is a common theme: the unprecedented broadening of presidential authority. In a new analysis published in Just Security , Dean Emeritus of NYU Law Trevor Morrison analyzes how Trump'...

The 2024 election broke spending records, highlighting the growing power of big money in politics. Megadonors back candidates to push their own interests and buy access and influence in our government. At the same time, the rise in untraceable dark money from undisclosed sources has made it increasingly difficult to identify who is really behind this spending. In a new book, Corporatocracy: How to...

Donald Trump has vowed to launch the biggest deportation scheme in U.S. history, in part by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 on his first day in office. This outdated law ast used to intern tens of thousands of foreign nationals of Japanese, German, and Italian descent during World War II. Does Trump have the power to carry out his plans now? Can we rely on Congress or the courts to stop him...

Rather than days of uncertainty, voters delivered a snap victory to Donald Trump. How will our democratic institutions respond to Trump’s plans to stretch presidential powers to their limits? Brennan Center experts explore what may come next. Recorded on November 7, 2024.  If you enjoy this program, please give us a boost by liking, subscribing, and sharing with your friends. If you’re listen...

Electing a president is not the only high-stakes choice voters will make in November. In Ohio, citizens will vote on a constitutional amendment that would end gerrymandering. Voters in 10 states have the opportunity to amend their state constitutions to affirm or expand protections for abortion care. Three states will decide whether to remove language against same-sex marriage from their state con...

Crime has long been a political wedge issue used to stoke anxiety and stir division, and this election cycle has been no different. Although the pandemic crime spike is receding, the politicians who fearmongered about crime in 2020 continue to call for harsher punishments and the repeal of reforms. Law enforcement officials and other experts understand that public safety and fairness are not compe...

A white supremacist of color seems like a contradiction. Yet recent years have brought to light unsettling examples, including an Afro-Latino leader of the Proud Boys and a Latino mass shooter with neo-Nazi sympathies. These men are among a small but growing number of Latinos in the United States who gravitate toward the far right and adopt radical views on race, Christian nationalism, and immigra...

In its last term, the Supreme Court undermined the federal government’s power to solve problems and the people’s ability to hold their political leaders accountable. The Court was flooded with false historical arguments, and the justices relied on profoundly flawed ideas about the deep American past to help justify their radical overhaul of the law. Additionally, the Court’s conservative supermajo...

On October 7, the Supreme Court begins its 2024–2025 term — the fourth in which it is dominated by a supermajority of conservative justices. Just months after a disastrous presidential immunity decision, and in the face of continued controversy over the justices’ ethics and partisanship, the Court will reconvene to hear arguments on issues with profound consequences for American life. Among the qu...

Election workers are unsung heroes, ensuring behind the scenes that our elections run smoothly and securely. Yet many people don’t fully grasp what their job entails, leaving room for election deniers to spread misinformation. This lack of understanding has fueled a disturbing rise in threats, intimidation, and abuse against election officials since 2020. This live panel was moderated by the Brenn...

Efforts to undermine trust in elections, marked by disinformation campaigns and attempts to overturn results, have surged. A new book, Our Nation at Risk, exposes how these assaults on election integrity pose a serious threat to national security. Featuring perspectives from leading political scientists, historians, and legal experts, it explores the escalation of these threats and presents concre...

Cities, states, and counties across the nation have curbed the use of money bail. Reformers say that jailing criminal defendants who can’t afford to buy their pretrial freedom punishes poverty. Opponents, however, blamed the uptick in crime during the Covid-19 pandemic on bail reform and pushed to roll back the changes. So what’s the truth — did bail reform cause an increase in crime? Terry-Ann Cr...

It’s time to reform the Supreme Court. The founders would not recognize the modern incarnation of what Alexander Hamilton called “the least dangerous” branch. The Court wields far more power on far more issues than it did in the 18th century. And it does so in the absence of adequate checks and balances. The individual justices hold this power longer than they ever have. For the first 180 years of...

The Insurrection Act gives presidents dangerous authority to use the U.S. military as a domestic police force It has virtually no limits on when and how this power can be used, making it ripe for abuse by any leader. Without urgent reforms, the law is a threat to civil liberties — and American democracy itself.  In a conversation moderated by the Brennan Center’s Elizabeth Goitein, lawyer and...

The Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority has taken a hard originalist turn, citing history to justify rulings that have eliminated many long-standing American rights. What exactly does originalism mean? Should history be the sole source of rights? And what if the history that the Court has relied on is flat-out wrong? Listen in on a discussion from October 12, 2023 moderated by Adam Serwer o...

Public support for the Supreme Court has plummeted to an all-time low in the last year as the highest court has been ridden with controversy and ethics scandals. Hard-right rulings from a conservative supermajority have also raised concerns about the judicial independence of the institution. Is it time to reform the Court? Listen in on a discussion between Kenji Yoshino, the Chief Justice Earl War...

Presidential immunity, limits on gun control, governmental oversight for agencies — the fate of these issues is in the hands of the Supreme Court this summer. Not only is the current Court the most conservative we have ever seen, it is also plagued with ethics violations. Brennan Center President Michael Waldman and Kareem Crayton, the Brennan Center’s senior director for voting and representation...

The Supreme Court has turned back time in recent decisions by regressing to an interpretation of the Constitution according to its “original meaning.” What has this meant for women’s rights?   Listen in on a panel discussion with Madiba K. Dennie, author of the new book The Originalism Trap ; Khiara M. Bridges of UC Berkeley School of Law; Emily Martin of the National Women’s Law Center; and...

A governing majority in the United States has never required an actual majority of the voting population. And the tactics of achieving minoritarian control are always shifting. A minority of Americans are now set on thwarting the will of the people through voter suppression, gerrymandering, and even election subversion. In his new book, Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the Peopl...

Donald Trump is now the first American president convicted of a crime. The smooth trial process shows that — independent of the outcome — the U.S. justice system can still work, even with a powerful defendant. But full accountability seems far off. The federal courts, including the Supreme Court, have stalled Trump’s prosecution for trying to overthrow the 2020 election and for misuse of classifie...

A new Brennan Center report reveals that intimidation aimed at state and local officials is distressingly common: For example, 43 percent of state legislators have experienced threats within the past three years.    These threats have serious repercussions for representative democracy. Officeholders report being less willing to work on contentious issues like reproductive rights and gun...

Most of the more than 1 million Americans in prison — disproportionately low-income people of color — will return to their communities after serving long sentences with few resources and little support. Recidivism rates remain stubbornly high. The criminal justice system, then, fails to produce public safety even as core values such as equality, fairness, and proportionality have fallen by the way...

Misdemeanors, not violent offenses, dominate criminal justice. A decade of reforms has shrunk the sprawling misdemeanor system, but the prosecution of shoplifting, traffic violations, and other lesser offenses remains a burden on vulnerable communities and law enforcement resources even as public concern over physical and social disorder in public spaces spurs calls for renewed enforcement. ...

Listen to the recording of our in-person event from last month, Decoding the Trump Indictments. Melissa Murray and Andrew Weissmann, coauthors of the new book The Trump Indictments, discuss the historic charges against the former president in a discussion moderated by Brennan Center President Michael Waldman. Murray is the Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law Faculty and director of the...