Congress

Just Security’s expert authors offer analysis of U.S. Congress’ role in national security, foreign affairs, the rule of law, and rights. Coverage includes analysis and informational resources related to the legislative process, oversight and investigations of the executive branch, and major debates on the separation of powers and Congress’ constitutional role.

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2,544 Articles
Screenshot of the Joint Resolution proposing the 22nd Amendment, from the General Records of the U.S. Government National Archives

No Indispensable Man: The Democratic Foundation of the 22nd Amendment

To violate the 22nd Amendment would be to discard the wisdom of those who sought to preserve U.S. democracy against the last rising tide of authoritarianism.
A man holds a Syrian flag across the street from the White House. An American flag waves in the background.

Caesar Act Repeal and the Syria Sanctions Removal Report Card

Where things stand along the path of Syria sanctions removal and what restrictions remain to inhibit burgeoning investment and development in post-Assad Syria.

The Just Security Podcast: Can the U.S. Still Lead on Anti-Corruption? Understanding the Combating Global Corruption Act

Dani Schulkin is joined by former State Department officials Sky Miller and Adam Keith to discuss anti-corruption efforts in the U.S. and abroad. 
Exterior of Northwestern University School of Law Levy Mayer Hall

The Assault on Law School Clinics is an Attack on Democracy Itself

Americans are witnessing a concerted effort to delegitimize legal defense for marginalized or politically disfavored people.
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) (R) speaks as Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) looks on

Questions Lawmakers Should Ask About Inspector General Report on Signalgate

The OIG report on the "Signalgate" incident is far from the “total exoneration” claimed by Hegseth and his aides.
Sign in front of the Department of State in Washington, D.C. (via Getty Images)

Global Corruption, Local Hypocrisy: The Promises and Pitfalls of the U.S. Combating Global Corruption Act

The Combating Global Corruption Act presents an imperfect but useful opportunity to rebuild the U.S. government’s anti-corruption practices.
U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung talk to reporters before an Oval Office meeting at the White House on August 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. During Lee's first official visit to the White House, the two leaders are set to discuss trade and military cooperation to counter North Korea and China, South Korea's top trade partner. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Legal and Policy Options for a U.S-South Korea Nuclear Submarine Program

Trump’s announcement 'approving' a nuclear-powered submarine plan with South Korea contradicts U.S. law requiring specific terms, agreements, and congressional review.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth arrives to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on June 18, 2025 in Washington, DC.

U.S. Boat Strike Campaign: Questions Congress Should Ask Executive Branch Officials

A list of questions that should be answered by U.S. government officials regarding the lethal campaign against suspected drug trafficking individuals, groups, and vessels.
President Donald Trump meets with Argentina’s President Javier Milei at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, on Saturday, February 22, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Molly Riley)

What Tariffs and the Argentina Bailout Can Tell Us About the Perils of Financial Statecraft

When the U.S. doesn't appreciate the role of finance in geopolitics, it risks mismanaging its responsibilities—and in the process creating economic and political instability.
U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) presides over the vote for H.R. 1, the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act in the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol on July 03, 2025 in Washington, DC. The House passed the sweeping tax and spending bill after winning over fiscal hawks and moderate Republicans. The bill makes permanent President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, increase spending on defense and immigration enforcement and temporarily cut taxes on tips, while at the same time cutting funding for Medicaid, food assistance for the poor, clean energy and raises the nation’s debit limit by $5 trillion. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

How to End the Shadow Budget and Protect Congress’s Power of the Purse

Unless Congress reasserts control over federal spending, the balance the framers designed could collapse into a self-financing presidency.
Workers wearing hard hats stand in a desert landscape under and around a long tube-like structure suspended from cables overhead. The tube appears to have differently sized and shaped compartments and equipment inside, and extending from the near end in the direction of the right side of the photo are numerous sets of cables in different colors, possibly connected to something offscreen.

Trump’s Nuclear Testing Remark Was a Signal — Not a Strategy

The science is sound, the stockpile is strong, and the call to test a nuclear bomb has no technical foundation. Resuming testing would not make America safer.
Screenshot of the mock legal review by Daniel Maurer.

Hypothetical Legal Review of Narcotrafficking Strikes

A mock “operational legal review” depicting what a staff judge advocate’s advice should have been prior to the first reported strike on an alleged drug trafficking vessel.
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