Executive Power

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The USS Gravely, a US Navy warship, departs the Port of Port of Spain on October 30, 2025. The US warship arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on October 26, 2025, for joint exercises near the coast of Venezuela, as Washington ratcheted up pressure on drug traffickers and Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. (Photo by MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP via Getty Images)

U.S. Saber Rattling and Venezuela: Lawful Show of Force or Unlawful Threat of Force?

Clearly, U.S. actions are threatening to Venezuela. But do they amount to an unlawful threat under international law, or are they merely a lawful show of force?
The U.S. Supreme Court Court in Washington, D.C., U.S.

A SCOTUS Bench Memo for the Trump Tariff Case: Separation of Powers, Delegation, Emergencies, and Pretext

By enacting IEEPA, did Congress authorize the president to impose tariffs? If so does, is that delegation of authority lawful?
Capitol Building

The Use of Tariffs to Raise Revenue is a Choice for Congress, not the President

Congress did not write IEEPA to allow a President to replace the income tax system with a patchwork of tariffs that they can impose, adjust, or suspend at will.
Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands after the signing of memorandums of understanding during a meeting with business leaders at the U.S. Ambassador's Residence on October 28, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The $550 Billion Shadow Budget: Trump’s Japan Deal and the Disappearing Appropriations Clause

The deal circumvents the Appropriations Clause and congressional safeguards designed to enforce it, creating a system answerable only to the White House.
Members of the Texas National Guard are seen at the Elwood Army Reserve Training Center on October 07, 2025 in Elwood, Illinois. The Trump administration has been threatening for more than a month to send the guard to Illinois to address Chicago's crime problem and to support ICE and CBP during Operation Midway Blitz. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has been outspoken in his opposition to the move, accusing the president of using the guardsmen as political pawns. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The Supreme Court: the Last Defense Against Trump’s Military Police State

The Supreme Court must not shirk its obligation to ensure that presidents cannot conscript the military in an effort to undermine democracy.
The Just Security Podcast Cover Image

The Just Security Podcast: Murder on the High Seas Part III

Tess Bridgeman is joined by Rebecca Ingber and Brian Finucane to assess the latest strikes, the brief detention of two survivors, where the campaign may be headed, and what…
Federal agents keep protestors back from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility

When Deference is No Longer Due

Reasons for historical deference to the executive branch's judgement in matters of national security and foreign affairs have been severely undermined.
US President Donald Trump addresses senior military officers gathered at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Quantico, Virginia, on September 30, 2025. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday the US military must fix "decades of decay" as he addressed a rare gathering of hundreds of senior officers summoned from around the world to hear him speak near Washington. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

The Crisis in Uniform: The Danger of Presidential Immunity for the U.S. Military

Military personnel are increasingly alert to the prospect that they may be asked to prioritize loyalty to an individual over their legal rights and responsibilities.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an Executive Orde

Repression as Rescue: The Authoritarian Logic of Trump’s Early Executive Orders

The rhetorical threats Trump employed during his campaign are directly echoed in the titles and content of his second-term EOs.
People demonstrate with CASA outside the Supreme Court of the United States on Thursday May 15, 2025. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The APA Authorizes “Universal” Stays of Agency Action Under 5 U.S.C. § 705

For litigants seeking to move quickly against unlawful executive action, Section 705 of the Administrative Procedure Act should be a powerful tool.
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - JUNE 26: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine turns to watch a video of a bombing test of the GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) used in the attack on the Iranian Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant during a news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon on June 26, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. The Department of Defense top officials gave an update after three Iranian nuclear facilities were struck by the U.S. military last weekend and Iran countered by launching missiles at Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The U.S. Attack on Iran Was Unconstitutional

Trump’s strike on Iran violated constitutional limits on the president's unilateral power to take the nation to war—an authority the Framers reserved for Congress.
Scales of justice and judge's gavel on wooden table against American flag

Nondelegation and Major Questions Doctrines Can Constrain Power Grabs by Presidents of Both Parties

Enforcing the nondelegation and major questions doctrines can help curb the danger posed by sweeping authority concentrated in a president of either party.
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