Take Care
Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution commands that the President “shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” Take Care is devoted to insightful, accessible, and timely legal analysis of the President’s adherence to that duty. We undertake this mission in direct response to recent assaults on the rule of law in America by President Donald J. Trump and his Administration.
The Take Care Clause both empowers and restrains the President. It assigns him a privileged role in interpreting and enforcing federal law. But in the same breath, it marks the outer limits of his authority, instructs him to exercise that power faithfully, and binds him to the fundamental premises of our constitutional democracy.
As Justice Robert Jackson taught, the Take Care Clause thus signifies “that ours is a government of laws, not of men, and that we submit ourselves to rulers only if under rules.”
In this spirit, Take Care addresses a wide range of legal questions arising under President Trump. Some of our posts offer focused analysis of particular Trump Administration policies, statements, conduct, or legal positions. Other posts provide broader reflections on whether the President and his Administration are acting in accordance with the rules and values of our constitutional order.
In addition, we have created—and will continue to create—resources useful to lawyers, journalists, policymakers, scholars, and citizens. To start, we offer a daily update, which pulls together legal analyses of the Trump Administration from around the web. We also host ever-growing topic pages, which organize our own commentary and contain archives of other relevant legal analyses. We are hard at work on other exciting projects, which we will unveil in the coming months.
Take Care is a platform for incisive legal analysis of a wide range of issues. Several of us edit posts, though without regard to whether we ultimately agree with them. As we explain here, each contributor speaks only for himself or herself. Whether we agree or disagree with each other on any particular question, though, we stand united in our desire to protect and defend the rule of law in America.
Ultimately, we seek to educate the public about significant legal questions in the Age of Trump. In these extraordinary times, we must all play our part in ensuring the President “shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”
