This Congressman Wants the U.S. To Use Military Force Against Mexican Cartels
Like other authorizations for the use of military force—or AUMFs—it would be an unnecessary, unwise expansion of executive power.
Executive overreach
The 5th Circuit Says the ATF Exceeded Its Legal Authority When It Banned Bump Stocks
The decision defends the separation of powers and the rule of law against an attempt to prohibit firearm accessories by administrative fiat.
Supreme Court to Hear Student Loan Forgiveness Case
The justices refuse to vacate the injunction against President Biden's student loan forgiveness policy, but accept certiorari.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Enjoins Biden Student Loan Forgiveness Plan
A federal appeals court has entered a nationwide injunction pending appeal in Missouri's lawsuit against President Biden's student loan forgiveness policy.
Biden Administration to Require Federal Contractors to Report and Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
A new proposed regulation may test the limits of the Executive Branch's authority to impose regulatory requirements on federal contractors.
Air Force One Cost Overruns Are a Reminder of How Expensive an Imperial Presidency Can Be
Boeing reports that the two new presidential shuttles its building will now be $2 billion over budget.
Biden Mistakenly Imagines That Congress Approved His Student Debt Cancellation Scheme
The lack of statutory authority is the main issue raised by legal challenges to the plan.
After 975 Days, Washington's Governor Will Finally Relinquish His Emergency Pandemic Powers
Gov. Jay Inslee says Washington state's COVID-19 emergency will finally come to an end on October 31.
The Student Loan Forgiveness Fiasco
Plus: Spider study sheds light on how misinformation spreads, Airbnb regulation ruled unconstitutional, and more...
D.C. Circuit Upholds the Bump Stock Ban, Saying It Is Consistent With the 'Best Interpretation' of the Law
It is hard to see how, given the contortions required to deliver the unilateral prohibition that Donald Trump demanded.
The 5th Circuit Considers Whether the Trump Administration Was Legally Authorized To Ban Bump Stocks
Regulators imposed the ban based on a highly implausible and counterintuitive reading of federal law.
If You Care About Democracy, Don't Ask Biden To Invoke Emergency Powers
Implementing policy is supposed to be difficult given that it could affect millions of people’s lives.
The Defense Production Act Has Become a License for Central Planning
If home insulation is a "critical technology item essential to the national defense," then what isn't?
Today Marks 80 Years Since Congress Last Bothered To Declare a War
Presidents once treated congressional authorization as a requirement for the U.S. to enter conflicts. What went wrong?
Starbucks Rescinds Employee COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
Starbucks has decided the vaccine mandate isn't good for their business
De Blasio's New York Shouldn't Treat Unvaccinated Kids as Second-Class Citizens
Requiring kids as young as 5 to either get vaccinated or stay home is not as smart or as necessary as de Blasio claims.
Biden's Vaccine Mandate Is the Latest Sign of the Presidency Becoming a Monarchy
The presidency has always been inclined to unilateral power—and many Americans like it that way.
Where Does Biden Get the Authority To Mandate Vaccination?
Emergency OSHA rules are frequently struck down by courts.
Two Big New Ways the Biden Administration Plans To Overstep Its Pandemic Authority
Plus: The vaccine and abortion debates, a promising jobs report, and more...
Biden Keeps Pushing Dubious Arguments for CDC Supremacy
The president seems determined to anoint the agency’s director as the nation’s COVID-19 dictator, no matter what the law says.
Gov. Gavin Newsom Clings to COVID-19 Emergency Powers
The state is scheduled to ease its lockdowns on June 15. But Newsom still wants the power to control the terms.
Pennsylvanians Voted To Limit Their Governor's Emergency Powers
Voters in Pittsburgh banned no-knock police raids and solitary confinement too.
COVID-19 Is Leading State Lawmakers To Finally Restrain Governors' Emergency Powers
Even during a pandemic, major changes to laws and policies should be funneled through state assemblies.
The CDC Keeps Extending Its Illegal Eviction Ban
The agency will be extending its controversial eviction moratorium through the end of June.
Biden's Orders Continue the Presidency's Slide Toward Elective Monarchy
If the refusal of lawmakers to enact a president's policies is justification for unilateral executive action, then a slide toward elective monarchy is inevitable.
Will President Biden Have Greater Control Over Independent Agencies than His Predecessors?
A newly released OLC opinion asserts the White House can require independent agencies to comply with Executive Orders on regulatory review.
Biden Acknowledges Constitutional Limits to the Power of the Presidency
That’s a rare position for modern White House residents, and not necessarily a popular one with the public.
Trump Outlaws Ugly Federal Buildings
Plus: House OKs bloated $1.4 trillion spending package, new Amash bills aim to protect asylum seekers and immigrant detainees, and more...
More Cops Say They Won't Enforce Coronavirus Curfews
Plus: Biden definitely wins Georgia, Alaskans approve ranked-choice voting, Facebook faces next antitrust lawsuit, and more...
Biden and Trump Now Agree: The President Has No Authority To Impose a Nationwide Mask Mandate
If only that signaled a broader respect for legal limits on executive power.
The Messy TikTok Sale Is What Happens When Governments Get Involved in Social Media
Plus: More red states may get legal weed, antitrust action against Google expected this week, the Cuties controversy, and more...
Court Thwarts Trump's Attempt To Exclude Undocumented Immigrants From Census
Plus: Raleigh cop uses fake evidence in drug cases, caution on CDC study linking restaurants to COVID-19 cases, and more...
Repairing the Rule of Law: A Post-Trump Agenda
A list of reforms to help restore the rule of law in a post-Trump Washington.
Mike Godwin, the Creator of Godwin's Law, Is Suing Trump Over His TikTok Executive Order
"I know what moral panics look like; they look kind of like this."
Trump's Naked Megalomania Continues a Bipartisan Trend
Will his blunt self-aggrandizement reinvigorate concerns about presidents who exceed their powers?
Trump's Illegal, Impossible Plan to Teach Twitter a Lesson
Plus: unrest in Minneapolis, Twitter labels Trump tweet, and more...
Trump Is Gutting the Inspector General System, and Most Republicans Don't Care
Congress created inspectors general to be watchdogs, but it's too weak-willed to protect those watchdogs from retaliation.
Eisenhower's Military-Industrial Complex Speech in the Age of Coronavirus
The 1961 speech by President Dwight Eisenhower foreshadowed the current government's response to COVID-19.
Trump Claims He Has 'Total' Authority Over When States End Social Distancing Rules. He's Wrong.
Plus: Americans plan to stay home for months, courts block more abortion bans, Amash "looking closely" at presidential run, and more...
Trump Has Secret Emergency Powers?
"Presidential emergency action documents” concocted under prior administrations purport to give him such authority, according to a New York Times op-ed.
If Bloomberg's Arrogance Worries You, His Weaselly Positions on Presidential Power Won't Reassure You
The presidential candidate reserves the right to wage unauthorized wars, kill Americans in foreign countries, prosecute journalists, and selectively flout the law.
Michael Bloomberg and the Imperious Presidency
Until we start denuding the Oval Office, we will continue getting the royals we deserve.
Michael Bloomberg and the Imperious Presidency
Until we start denuding the Oval Office, we will continue getting the royals we deserve.
Sarah Sanders 'Can't Think of Anything Dumber Than Allowing Congress To Take Over Our Foreign Policy'
The former press secretary thinks abiding by the Constitution would be the worst thing for America right now.
More Impeachments! Dumping Bad Presidents Should Be No Big Deal
"Somehow we've decided that the one job in America that gets the most job protection is the one where you actually get nuclear weapons," says the Cato Institute's Gene Healy.
Don't Freak Out About Impeachment
Americans can lose their jobs for almost anything. Why are we so hesitant to give presidents the boot?
Trump's Audacious Immunity Claim
His desperate attempt to stop a grand jury from seeing his tax returns invokes kingly powers that would put the president above the law.
Impeachment Is Both the Cause and the Effect of a Too-Powerful Presidency
If, at the end of all this, President Mike Pence sits behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office, what has been accomplished?