Executive Power
Once Upon a Time in America
There was a time in American history — nearly all of it up to the presidency of Woodrow Wilson — when the federal government followed basic constitutional norms. With some unique and discrete exceptions, like the Civil War, Congress wrote the laws, the president...
The Neutrality Proclamation in a Nutshell
Today in history, on April 22, 1793, President George Washington issued a statement that the United States would remain neutral in the ongoing conflict between France and Britain. Given that his decision kept the United States out of a war, why was it so...
Can Congress Amend the Constitution?
“Emergency does not create power. Emergency does not increase granted power or remove or diminish the restrictions imposed upon power granted or reserved. The Constitution was adopted in a period of grave emergency. Its grants of power to the federal government...
National “Emergencies” and a Renewed Federal Gun Control Push
Earlier this week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told a group of supporters and journalists that in her view, gun violence is the real emergency. Such a statement, in the context in which she made it, should send shivers down the spines of all who believe in personal...