Congress
Federal Farmer: Senate Will be “Source of the Greatest Evils”
While the anti-federalist Federal Farmer was critical of the proposed House of Representatives for having too few members, he was even more harsh toward the proposed Senate. Ironically, he wrote in his tenth letter dated January 12, 1788, that the Senate “as an...
There’s A Lot of Confusion Out There: Senate Edition
A friend forwarded me an email from a friend of his who was complaining about the U.S. Senate possibly remaining in Republican hands. This person believes the system is unfair because it allows rural states to control urban states. Here’s part of what he wrote....
How much power may Congress delegate to federal agencies?
Editor’s Note: This essay first appeared in the Originalism Blog. The subject is very important, but the essay is rather technical: It discusses the extent to which Congress may delegate responsibilities to federal agencies. Some scholars have argued recently that...
The Presidency and War Power
Readers of this column are familiar with the concept of the separation of powers, which James Madison crafted as integral to the Constitution. That concept mandates that Congress writes the laws, the president enforces them, the courts decide what they mean and...