Debates over the proper scope of executive power in the United States have been a feature of U.S. law and politics dating back to before the nation’s founding. Article II of the Constitution vests the president with “the executive power” and the power to act as the military’s Commander in Chief, but the post-9/11 presidency has been characterized as a striking expansion of executive power, particularly in the area of national security.
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This guide describes the scope and context of Biden’s early immigration executive actions, outlines where their effect is limited, and emphasizes where more action is needed.
The president should reaffirm the historically close relationship between the pardon power and the justice system, restructured so that each may once again usefully inform the other’s operation.
President Biden could rejoin the United States to the Open Skies Treaty in reliance on the Senate’s original resolution of advice and consent.
Could Congress build a kind of distributed truth commission on the back of a system that already investigates misconduct in every important agency in the federal government: the network of inspectors general?
Amidst an ongoing debate over aging AUMFs, how does the president view the war powers? Biden's long tenure in the federal government suggests that while he might claim broad war authority, he will not use major force absent significant congressional support.
Lawfare is compiling a selection of executive actions taken by President Biden to implement his administration’s policies on policing and criminal justice.
Lawfare is compiling a selection of executive actions taken by President Biden to implement his administration’s policies on federal service reforms.
Senators should not concede that former President Trump has the authority to assert executive privilege and direct the withholding of evidence based on his appraisal of the public interest. And it should especially not do so in the context of impeachment.
Yes, President Trump was corrupt and malfeasant. But federal criminal proceedings against him would distract President Biden, give Trump a publicity bonanza, shroud key findings in investigative secrecy, and hand future corrupt presidents a dangerous weapon.
The president would be well-advised not to issue any preemptive pardons, and a potential recipient well-advised not to accept one.