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.

× Clear Filters
4,757 Articles
Members of the House (Select) Intelligence Committee listen during a hearing at the Cannon Office Building on March 12, 2024 in Washington, DC. Leaders from the U.S. intelligence community are participating in hearings with both the Senate and House intelligence committees to lay out their perceived global threats to the United States.

Time for U.S. Intelligence to Ask: How Did We Alienate so Many Americans?

"Two years before the next round of debate over Section 702, an earlier, deeper, and more wide-ranging conversation needs to take place between the intelligence and civil liberties…
US Department of State building with sign in front

The State Department’s Civilian Harm Incident Response Guidance: How to Make a Good Thing Better

The State Department's Civilian Harm Incident Response Guidance process is a good start but changes can improve function and transparency.
The U.S. Supreme Court building at dawn in Washington, D.C., U.S. Photographer: Samuel Corum/Bloomberg

Three Flaws in the Supreme Court’s Decision on Presidential Criminal Immunity

Three major flaws in the Trump v. United States majority opinion derive from the Court’s failure to examine and differentiate the source and scope of presidential power -- whether…

How ‘Economic Security’ is Re-shaping Presidential Power

Linking of “foreign commerce” to “economic security” has dangerously blurred authority that Congress has delegated to the executive branch.
The Alto Lee Adams Sr. United States Courthouse is shown. It is while building with palm trees in front and a blue sky in the background.

Judge Cannon Finds Special Counsel Unconstitutional in Trump Classified Documents Case: What’s Next for Jack Smith?

Judge Aileen Cannon found that Attorney General Merrick Garland had no power to appoint Jack Smith as a special counsel, dismissing the case.
NATO leaders are seated at desks in a large circle with additional desk seating behind them for other attendees, all under a large lighted disk above them and the number 75 in large figures behind them to mark the alliance's 75th anniversary.

After the NATO Summit, Allies Need to Step Up Their Game on Ukraine, Russia, and China

The Alliance made significant progress in some areas, but has lots of work to do going forward to meet the challenges on its doorstep.
The episode title appears with sound waves behind it.

The Just Security Podcast NATO’s Washington Summit: Russia’s War on Ukraine Tests Alliance

Joining the show to discuss this year’s NATO summit and unpack its implications is Ambassador Daniel Fried. 
The city of Aleppo with smoke rising in the background.

War and What We Make of the Law

Compliance with international humanitarian law must be about fulfilling its humanitarian purpose, not skirting its limits.

At the NATO Summit, Strategy and Politics in Play

The agenda has more than the usual weight attached to it while war rages in Europe and amid the US political dynamic.
The episode title appears with sound waves behind it.

The Just Security Podcast: Presidential Immunity After Trump v. United States

Legal experts Ryan Goodman, Marty Lederman, Mary McCord, and Steve Vladeck unpack what Trump v. United States means for presidential immunity.  
The U.S. presidential seal appears against the black background of a podium.

Trump’s Prosecutions Depend on Whether the Dissent Got It Right

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the Supreme Court's majority granted “former President Trump all the immunity he asked for and more.” 
Smoke billows from a city neighborhood of tan, brown buildings.

Assessing Jus Ad Bellum Proportionality: A Factored Approach

Nine factors, considered in their totality, would provide a more nuanced understanding of jus ad bellum proportionality and assist States in identifying specific concerns with…
1-12 of 4,757 items

DON'T MISS A THING. Stay up to date with Just Security curated newsletters: