Executive Branch

Just Security’s expert authors provide analysis of the U.S. executive branch related to national security, rights, and the rule of law. Analysis and informational resources focus on the executive branch’s powers and their limits, and the actions of the president, administrative agencies, and federal officials.

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4,605 Articles
January 6th insurgents watch Trump on a billboard projection or television. This is a screenshot from the Parler video and shows the backs of peoples’ heads as they watch Trump.

“Fight for Trump”: Video Evidence of Incitement at the Capitol

New video footage scraped from Parler, and former federal prosecutors' reactions.
Side by side photos of Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, and Paul Manafort.

Gaps in Trump’s Pardons: How the Biden Administration Can Still Pursue Justice

Former FBI General Counsel and top prosecutor in Special Counsel's Office explains how the pardons for Bannon, Manafort, Stone left the door open for Justice Department to now…
A photo exhibition outside of the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva on August 17, 2020. The photo-posters are placed between trees in the grass and show images of healthcare workers.

Strengthening the Global Dimension of Biden’s COVID-19 Rescue & Recovery Plan

Breathing new life into the global response to the pandemic should be at the top of the Biden administration's agenda.
Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa inspects the guard of honour from a car during the Defence Forces Day celebrations held at the National Sports Stadium in Harare on August 14, 2018.

The American Insurrection Was a Gain for Dictators, and a Loss for Zimbabweans

The Jan. 6 Capitol riot marked a setback for millions of people around the world who yearn for more democratic societies where their voices matter.
U.S. and Iran flags are projected on chess kings on a chess board. The projection continues to the background behind the chess pieces, leaving shadows of the chess pieces.

Shifting Contours, But the Same Solution: Swiftly Returning to the Iran Nuclear Deal

While the landscape between Iran and the United States has changed dramatically over the last few months, the solution to Iran’s growing nuclear stockpile and increasing tensions…
Antony Blinken rests his chin in his hand during his confirmation hearing to be Secretary of State before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on January 19, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Blinken Sails Through Queries on Iran, China, Russia, NATO, and More in Secretary of State Confirmation Hearing

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Republicans and Democrats alike were mostly welcoming as they probed his approach to the world's trouble spots.
A Honduran family walks back to Piedras Negras, Coahuila state, Mexico at the international bridge, after being rejected by US authorities in their attempt to enter Eagle Pass, Texas on February 6, 2019. The path ahead of the family is completely obscured by a thick grey haze.

Salvaging US Refugee Law in 2021: The Case for Tackling the Problem of Discretionary Asylum

Our statutes improperly give U.S. government officials broad discretion to deny asylum even to those who are determined by the government to face persecution in their home countries.
President Biden speaks into a microphone in front of an American flag.

On Biden’s Planned Summit: Humility, Not Hubris, Can Save Democracy

The voices of those who have suffered most from democracy’s ills are crucial to understanding – and addressing -- the impact of backsliding laws, policies, and institutions…
People walk past missiles manufactured by Lockheed Martin displayed during the Association of the United States Army (AUSA)Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, DC, October 13, 2014.

Toward A More Responsible US Arms Trade Policy: Recommendations for the Biden-Harris Administration

Biden pledged a foreign policy that would restore U.S. moral leadership. Ending U.S. complicity in human rights abuses, civilian harm, and humanitarian crises through the structural…
U.S. Army (retired) General Lloyd Austin speaks after being formally nominated to be Secretary of the Department of Defense by U.S. President-elect Joe Biden at the Queen Theatre on December 09, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. Behind him is a banner with the seal of the President-Elect.

What Should Be Addressed in Austin’s Confirmation Hearing for Defense Secretary?

Some of the top defense experts and thinkers offer their thoughts on what issues they’d like to see addressed and what questions they’d like to see asked at retired Gen. Lloyd…
Pro-democracy protesters hold up a sign showing a meme of U.S. President Elect Joe Biden and "No 112" on them during a rally at the Nonthaburi Police Station on December 08, 2020 in Bangkok, Thailand.

US Human Rights Policy: How to Really Build Back Better

The Biden administration must create a system in which human rights and democracy policymaking is embedded and integrated in its decision-making machinery.
Demonstrators in Washington, DC, on June 4, 2020, raise signs as they gather at The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial to protest the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis. One sign reads, “Black Lives Matter,” and another sign reads, “I am no longer accepting the things I can not change. I am changing the things I can not accept.”

MLK Believed “No Justice, No Peace”

Arguments that the protests over the killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless others betray King’s legacy are not only in bad faith, but plainly wrong.
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