The Federal Court Snapback
The judiciary, including the Supreme Court, is standing up to the president
My take, building on arguments by James Comey, on the extraordinary degree to which federal courts, including the Supreme Court, have successfully checked the Trump administration in the last year.
open.substack.com/pub/executiv...
06.02.2026 15:42 — 👍 19 🔁 6 💬 2 📌 1
Sai Prakash on the Pardon Power from the Founding to Trump
A short clause, a troubled history
My discussion with Sai Prakash about his great (and short!) new book on the Pardon Power (www.amazon.com/Presidential...)
open.substack.com/pub/executiv...
20.01.2026 16:43 — 👍 6 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 1
Edward Levi’s Department of Justice
What a Difference a Half Century Makes
A brief tribute to the great Edward Levi, the 71st Attorney General of the United States.
open.substack.com/pub/executiv...
16.01.2026 15:11 — 👍 9 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
The Criminal Investigation of the Fed Chair
The law and politics of weaponizing DOJ against Powell
Bob Bauer and I discuss the law and politics of the DOJ criminal investigation of the Fed Chair. open.substack.com/pub/executiv...
12.01.2026 15:12 — 👍 8 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 1
The President's Protective Power
The relevance and limits of the Article II doctrine in domestic military deployments after Trump v. Illinois
May have sent bad link earlier on my discussion with Chris Mirasola about the president's protective power and its relevance to Trump's domestic military deployments--a potentially big issue going forward. Now fixed.
www.execfunctions.org/p/the-presid...
29.12.2025 23:12 — 👍 25 🔁 8 💬 1 📌 1
The President's Protective Power
The relevance and limits of the Article II doctrine in domestic military deployments after Trump v. Illinois
My discussion with Chris Mirasola about the president's protective power and its relevance to Trump's domestic military deployments--a potentially big issue going forward.
www.execfunctions.org/p/the-presid...
Chris's great article on this: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
29.12.2025 21:10 — 👍 10 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 1
The Danish West Indies Precedent for U.S. Acquisition of Greenland
There is lots of law between Donald Trump and the acquisition of Greenland
Re-upping my take from a year ago on Trump and Greenland: "Trump has a habit of making the unthinkable thinkable. But he faces complex legal and political hurdles to making the thinkable a reality."
open.substack.com/pub/executiv...
22.12.2025 16:05 — 👍 18 🔁 5 💬 0 📌 0
My discussion with Alan Rozenshtein on Executive Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Bureaucracy and the presidential "oracle"
www.execfunctions.org/p/executive-...
09.12.2025 16:15 — 👍 9 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 0
A Dishonorable Strike
Indulging all assumptions in favor of the administration’s boat strikes, killing helpless men is murder
A Dishonorable Strike
Indulging all assumptions in favor of the administration’s boat strikes, killing helpless men is murder
www.execfunctions.org/p/a-dishonor...
29.11.2025 04:26 — 👍 1544 🔁 455 💬 57 📌 31
What Are We Living Through?
Three ways to understand the Trump administration
My discussion with David Pozen about his elucidating essay, with Jedediah Britton-Purdy, entitled: "What Are We Living Through? Three competing narratives of the second Trump administration." www.execfunctions.org/p/what-are-w...
11.11.2025 17:18 — 👍 21 🔁 7 💬 0 📌 1
Decision-making Disarray at the DOJ
Blanche, Bondi, Halligan, Martin—and a White House in charge
Bob Bauer and I discuss internal rifts at DOJ, the loyalty pressures shaping the Trump administration, and whether constitutional reform is needed to curb the spiral of politicized prosecutions.
www.execfunctions.org/p/decision-m...
14.10.2025 18:19 — 👍 10 🔁 5 💬 1 📌 0
First full draft of a new paper: A (very) deep dive in to the Supreme Court's interim orders related to Trump thus far this year.
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
04.08.2025 20:28 — 👍 24 🔁 9 💬 3 📌 0
Trump’s Continuing Illegal Refusal to Enforce the TikTok Ban
This executive branch precedent will have long and bad legs.
My take on Trump's second and still-illegal extension of his order declining enforcement of the TikTok ban and seeking to wipe out private liability under the law, with assessment of implications. open.substack.com/pub/executiv...
19.06.2025 18:15 — 👍 31 🔁 8 💬 3 📌 2
The Iran Conflict and War Powers
Assessing the president's authority, Congress's role, and the underlying politics
Bob Bauer and I discuss the possibility of the US joining in on Israel's strikes on Iran: legal authorities, Congress's role, and the politics. open.substack.com/pub/executiv...
18.06.2025 15:13 — 👍 16 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Martin v. Mott Enters the Stage
The scope of judicial review of the president’s domestic deployment decisions, and the federal courts’ larger predicament
My assessment of Martin v. Mott, which will be crucial in resolving the L.A. Deployment case and other more aggressive domestic military deployments. open.substack.com/pub/executiv...
16.06.2025 12:29 — 👍 17 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 1
California Sues and Marines Enter L.A.
A longer-than-usual chat in which we disagree, a bit, on the law and politics
California Sues USG and and the Marines Enter L.A.:
A longer-than-usual chat with Bob Bauer in which we disagree, a bit, on the law and politics of the USG-CA standoff. open.substack.com/pub/executiv...
10.06.2025 14:34 — 👍 6 🔁 2 💬 1 📌 1
Troops in Los Angeles
The legal authorities and possible trajectory of the deployment
Bob Bauer and I discuss legal and other issues related to POTUS National Guard Memo and troops in LA.
open.substack.com/pub/executiv...
09.06.2025 15:01 — 👍 7 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
The National Guard in Los Angeles
The president hasn’t invoked the Insurrection Act. He’s instead relying on a theory of inherent constitutional power that is far more limited.
Short, sound, and straightforward legal analysis of the National Guard in LA, by @cmirasola1. Bottom line: 10 USC 12406 is the authority to federalize national guard, but the "protective power" exercised by POTUS is Article II-based. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...
09.06.2025 09:14 — 👍 94 🔁 30 💬 4 📌 0
Trumpifying Federal Courts
The president’s attacks on the Federalist Society and his nomination of Emil Bove
Bob Bauer and I discuss Trump's attack on the Federalist Society, the Emile Bove nomination to the federal court of appeals, and Trump 2.0 vision for the federal judiciary. open.substack.com/pub/executiv...
02.06.2025 14:48 — 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
The Weaknesses in the Trump Tariff Rulings
The tariffs may be awful but two federal courts did not persuasively show that they are unlawful.
My take on the weaknesses in the Trump IEEPA tariff rulings and the extraordinary importance, underemphasized in those rulings, of the major questions doctrine to the legality of the Trump tariffs. open.substack.com/pub/executiv...
30.05.2025 15:16 — 👍 16 🔁 3 💬 2 📌 1
The Supreme Court’s Important Decision on Presidential Removal
Unpacking the emergency order in Trump v. Wilcox
Bob Bauer and I discuss Trump v. Wilcox, the Supreme Court’s important emergency docket ruling on Presidential removal power, including what it means for Humphrey’s Executor, and other potential short- and long-term consequences. open.substack.com/pub/executiv...
23.05.2025 13:27 — 👍 9 🔁 3 💬 1 📌 0
Executive Functions Roundup
False Claims Act
Read today's Executive Functions Roundup, featuring two Alien Enemies Act rulings, two announcements from the DOJ, and commentary from @nicholasbednar.bsky.social and Erwin Chemerinsky. executivefunctions.substack.com/p/executive-...
20.05.2025 11:14 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
And Bauer and I discuss the details of the oral argument and my post as well. open.substack.com/pub/executiv...
16.05.2025 15:16 — 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Senior legal affairs reporter at POLITICO with a focus on democracy, the balance of power and the clash between the Trump administration and courts.
Personal account. Personal views. Frank G. Millard Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School & Arlene Susan Kohn Professor of Social Policy, University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy. Former General Counsel, HHS and OMB.
The home for Chris Geidner’s legal newsletter, covering SCOTUS, as well as LGBTQ, criminal justice, post-Roe, and more legal news. Subscribe today: https://www.lawdork.com/
A Substack newsletter devoted to analysis of presidential and broader executive power issues, by Bob Bauer and @jacklgoldsmith.bsky.social
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Dwight Professor of Law, Columbia Law School. Ex-DOJ/OLC. Becoming familiar with your game.
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Law Professor at University of Arizona
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Professor at Georgetown University Law Center; former DOJ/OLC attorney
Political science professor, academic dean, writer, podcaster, shaker of hands with Mel Brooks — you know, the usual kinks.
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NYT Columnist, visiting professor at Lipscomb University. Married to @nancyfrench.bsky.social.
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Harvard Law Professor; former Obama admin; climate and energy expert; federal regulation scholar; CleanLaw podcaster; editor of Global Climate Change and US Law; Director of https://eelp.law.harvard.edu. More at JodyFreeman.com. Opinions mine alone.
Administrative law & bureaucracy obsessed Stanford Law School professor; former ACUS council member (fired by Trump); writing book, Stand-Ins (on temporary leaders in government, business, & religion); mom of two
Notre Dame Law School professor. Administrative law geek. Should be writing. Papers here: ssrn.com/author=926820
Law professor @Berkeley Law. Inaugural Rappaport Fellow @Harvard Law. Writing and teaching about law, geopolitics, administration and technology.
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Antonin Scalia Professor of Law, Harvard Law School
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When you're handed lemons, make lemonade!
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Like nearly everyone, a Subject Matter Generalist (SMG) on most things.
