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.
4,803 Articles

Exclusive: Trump’s Trolls Are Waging War on America’s Civil Servants
On June 11, alt-right blogger Mike Cernovich published an article attacking an assistant to National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, claiming the previously low-profile civil servant…

Crossing the “t”s and Dotting the “i”s: Back to Square One in the Hawaii Entry Ban Dispute
In short, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that it did not have jurisdiction to consider an appeal of Judge Watson’s interlocutory order in which he concluded…

Norms Watch: Democracy, the Trump Administration, and Reactions to It (June 30-July 7)
Editor’s Note: Welcome to the latest installment of Norms Watch, our series tracking both the flouting of democratic norms by the Trump administration and the erosion of…

Most Americans Disagree With Trump Admin’s Enforcing Travel Ban Against Grandparents
One of the hotly contested questions in the Travel Ban litigation is the definition of “close family relationships.” The Supreme Court told the administration that it cannot…

The Supreme Court’s Decision to Hear Travel Ban Cases Does Not Bode Well for Civil Liberties
On June 26, the Supreme Court announced it would hear two cases challenging President Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban. The Court’s decision to hear these matters should surprise…

Timeline: Trump’s Acts of Appeasement/Accommodation to Russia [Updated]
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Fragmented Wars: International Law and Multi-Territorial Conflict Against Non-State Armed Groups
The legal issues surrounding military operations against non-State armed groups abroad are continuing to generate policy and legal debates. In an article just published in International…

Giving CVE a Chance
Last week’s announcement by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of a revised list of awardees of the Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Grant Program generated many headlines…

US-UAE Partnership and Alleged Torture: Recommended Next Steps for the Administration and Congress
An important foreign military partner in our armed conflict against al-Qaida in Yemen—the United Arab Emirates—has faced a series of allegations that it is engaged in systematic…

International Cyber Law Politicized: The UN GGE’s Failure to Advance Cyber Norms
On June 23, after years of slow yet meaningful progress in developing State consensus regarding the application of international law norms to cyberspace, the UN Group of Governmental…

Mixing Politics with Business: A Master List of Trump’s Conflicts of Interest
Remember that giant pile of manila folders? They were stacked high at Donald Trump’s press conference on Jan. 11. While no one was allowed to take a closer look at them, the…

Seriously? The Court Intended to Exclude Grandmas from the Preliminary Injunctions? [UPDATED with Hawaii motion]
I just wanted to add a brief follow-up to the excellent posts by Leah Litman and by Ryan Goodman and Adam Cox on the absurdity of the Administration’s interpretation of the…