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.
4,605 Articles
Women, Marching and Security
On Saturday, more than 2 million people marched across the United States and multiple world capitals making vocal and visual their opposition to Donald Trump’s presidency and…
The U.S. Constitution and the Risk of Democratic Backsliding
Is there a real possibility of the erosion of democratic institutions toward authoritarianism in the United States? What can the experience of other countries tell us about how…
Obama Admin: Only One Civilian Killed by U.S. Outside of War Zones in 2016
On the eve of the inauguration of a new president, the Director of National Intelligence released a report (full text) that summarizes the number of military strikes taken by the…
Norms Watch: Tracking the Erosion of Democratic Traditions (Jan. 13-20)
Sign up here to receive Norms Watch in your inbox each Friday. Last week, we launched a regular series tracking President-elect Donald Trump’s adherence, or lack thereof, to…
Tracking the Trump Team’s Conflicting or False Statements on Russia (Chart)
This is an effort to catalog instances when the Trump team’s assertions about their connections to Russia contradict what they’ve said in the past and the facts as they’ve…
The CIA’s New Guidelines for Handling Americans’ Information
In acknowledgment of the mass scale of modern electronic intelligence collection, the Central Intelligence Agency today released newly updated guidelines governing how it treats…
How Trump Can Work with Russia to Challenge the Status Quo and to Control ISIS
What should President Donald Trump do if ISIS crashed a plane into the Freedom Tower next September 11, 2017? After 16 years of a so-called “war on terror,” would experts be…
Why the Cartwright Pardon is More Important Than the Manning Commutation
Today’s news of President Obama’s decision to commute most of the rest of Chelsea Manning’s 35-year prison sentence has received (and will receive) significant…
Dissenting from Within the Trump Administration
After the presidential election, many of those who were already working in government or who were considering joining began to ask questions about the ethics of working for a Trump…
5 Best and 5 Worst Moments from the Week’s Confirmation Hearings on US National Security Issues
The week of confirmation hearings is over, and it’s time to take stock of what we have learned from the people the President-elect has nominated to lead his administration in…
Norms Watch: Tracking Team Trump’s Breaches of Democratic Traditions
We’re launching a regular series tracking President-elect Donald Trump’s adherence, or lack thereof, to democratic norms. These norms are not necessarily legally required,…
The President-Elect and the Logan Act
The Washington Post‘s David Ignatius has a really thoughtful new column summarizing the big questions surrounding the President-Elect, Russia, hacking, and the election. As…