7/18/20  //  Commentary

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie discuss the Supreme Court's pair of decisions governing Trump's tax returns. Are they coming soon? Did the Democrats make a mistake in not being more aggressive in invoking the impeachment power? Listen now!

3/17/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

Some are worrying about Republican-controlled legislatures eliminating the right to vote in a presidential election and just appointing Trump-supporting electors themselves. Don't worry: not only is the scenario unlikely, it couldn't legally happen.

3/9/20  //  Commentary

The current coronavirus epidemic shows why it's often a good idea to vest specific executive authority in officers other than the President.

3/5/20  //  Commentary

On this week’s Versus Trump, Charlie and Jason discuss the D.C. Circuit's recent opinion holding that courts have no power to enforce subpoenas issued by the House. They discuss the opinion's rationale, whether it makes sense, and whether the House might—or should—take the court up on its offer to start jailing Trump Administration officials in their own brig. Listen now!

12/19/19  //  Commentary

Senators who vote on removal following impeachment trials must take an oath akin to that of a juror. The oath requires them to be impartial and vote regardless of the president's party affiliation. Will Senators do that here?

11/5/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason, Charlie, and Easha talk executive privilege. They outline the legal landscape of several hard questions in this area, like can the President completely prevent executive officials from testifying, and what role do the courts play here? Listen now!

1/14/18  //  Daily Update

While the President holds an obligation to ensure faithful execution of the laws, Congress holds sole authority to appropriate resources for that power’s exercise and is therefore not duty-bound to provide resources necessary for the executive branch’s fulfillment of its constitutional functions.

12/4/17  //  Daily Update

The Senate Judiciary Committee urged the DOJ to expand its oversight of gambling. A bipartisan Cyber Diplomacy Act is a legislative effort to the State Department's "redesign."

11/26/17  //  Daily Update

Despite concerning allegations, President Trump maintains support for Roy Moore in Alabama's senate race.

11/6/17  //  Daily Update

Legislative proposals to protect the Mueller investigation against political interference by the White House appear to have lost momentum. The Senate is poised to confirm several judicial nominees.

10/31/17  //  Daily Update

Senator Jeff Flake announced his retirement from the Senate in a speech sharply criticizing the White House.

10/21/17  //  Daily Update

The Trump Administration may inspire greater congressional oversight of the federal bureaucracy. President Trump has had more judicial nominees confirmed than President Obama had at this point in his first term; although President Trump has nominated prolific bloggers to the bench, Republican Senators have stuck by his selections.

3/17/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Republican criticism of CBO's report on the American Health Care Act echoes long-standing criticism of cost-benefit analysis at OIRA. There are lessons to be learned here.

5/10/17  //  Commentary

It’s already too late in the day to trust the executive branch to police itself. That lack of trust should extend to a special prosecutor, independent counsel, or whatever other nice terms you want to call it. At this point, only Congress can credibly investigate the President.

3/23/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The Trump administration is engaged in stunning constitutional hypocrisy. Measured against conservatives' professed commitment to "liberty" and "freedom," there is no serious distinction to be drawn between Obamacare and Trump's American Health Care Act.

4/10/17  //  Commentary

The Gorsuch nomination battle illustrates and exacerbates the dynamics of democratic deterioration. Reversing these trends will require elected officials to act with courage. It will also require significant structural changes to our political system.

3/26/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Thoughts on a thus-far-hypothetical question

9/21/17  //  Commentary

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Easha and Charlie discuss all things FOIA—that is, the Freedom of Information Act. Listen now!

8/22/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Congress should engender a robust administrative separation of powers, ensuring that a forceful bureaucracy (and an engaged public) can advance congressional priorities and check those of the President

7/12/18  //  Uncategorized

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason, Charlie, and Easha discuss the retirement of Justice Kennedy and how his presumptive replacement may rule in Versus Trump cases. They then do some quick hits to update a handful of important cases. Listen now!

12/21/17  //  Commentary

On this week’s Versus Trump holiday spectacular, it's all judges, all the time. Charlie, Jason, and Easha take a closer look at a number of the President's judicial nominees—confirmed, pending, and withdrawn—to examine what might happen to Versus Trump cases in years to come. Listen now!

3/17/17  //  Commentary

President Trump isn't nominating people to many positions requiring Senate confirmation. Instead, he's relying on employees who haven't been vetted through the advice & consent process. That's not okay.

6/6/17  //  Commentary

Even Had He Wanted to Assert Executive Privilege, Trump May Have Waived Any Such Claim Over His Conversations With Jim Comey By Blabbing and Tweeting About Them

1/22/18  //  Commentary

The continuing resolution that was signed by President Trump contains a provision that permits his intelligence agencies to spend billions of dollars on anything they want, without having to inform Congress about what they are doing. This seems like a bad idea.

7/25/17  //  Commentary

By Abbe Gluck: This is repeal for repeal’s sake. It’s not about policy. It’s all about politics. And of course, it’s also about human lives.

7/26/17  //  Commentary

The bill to impose sanctions on Russia for meddling in the 2016 election is unconstitutional. And unnecessarily so.

7/5/18  //  Commentary

This week, Jason, Charlie, and Easha are back with a regular episode to discuss a stunning recent development in Texas v. United States, a case by Texas seeking to invalidate the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Last month, the Trump Administration not only agreed with Texas that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, but it also told the district court that the requirement to cover everyone with a pre-existing condition on the same terms as healthy folks should be struck down as well. Listen now!

5/11/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

President Trump’s abrupt firing of FBI Director James Comey prompted two immediate questions: Is the firing legal, and is this a constitutional crisis? But are these even the right questions to pose?

6/8/17  //  Quick Reactions

No GOP attack dogs; Lynch, Sessions, Rosenstein in trouble; McCain’s health

11/15/18  //  Uncategorized

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason has a solo episode where he talks about a motion by Maryland contending that Matthew Whitaker was not legally appointed as Acting Attorney General. Listen now!

9/14/17  //  Commentary

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, we discuss a major new lawsuit that challenges President Trump's announced revocation of the DACA immigration program. Listen now!

9/23/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

If the House Ways and Means Committee lacked Article III standing, then the House’s subpoena power would be gutted, and the Executive Branch could defy valid congressional process with impunity

5/10/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

It'll only matter if they make it matter.

5/23/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

More reasons why the D.C. Circuit should not rely on the CFPB’s purported novelty to suggest the CFPB is unconstitutional

7/27/17  //  Commentary

By Jeffrey Crouch: Might Congress amend the Constitution to take the self-pardon question off the table permanently?

8/25/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

There needs to be a separation of microphones just as much as a separation of powers, and Congress does not understand the microphone that 2017 requires.

6/9/17  //  Commentary

The various references to executive privilege and unauthorized disclosures must be analyzed more closely.

12/22/17  //  Quick Reactions

We offer a few quick reactions to yesterday's opinion dismissing one of the emoluments cases on standing grounds.

8/25/17  //  Latest Developments

Take Care is pleased to host a symposium on Congress's Constitution—an important new book by Josh Chafetz

6/19/17  //  Commentary

It is perfectly consistent to think the House lacks standing in House v. Price, but that members of Congress have standing to sue for Foreign Emoluments Clause violations.

7/25/17  //  Commentary

Elements of the Republican Party have proposed eliminating the Budget Analysis Division of the Congressional Budget Office.

3/20/18  //  Commentary

By Former Republican Congressmen Tom Coleman and Mickey Edwards

5/10/17  //  Commentary

Our country has a very strong, very important norm of apolitical law enforcement. But this norm, ironically, is enforced mostly by politics, not law—and Trump’s action has risked doing it irreparable damage. Going forward, here's what to watch at the state and federal levels.

6/19/17  //  Commentary

Trumps can fire Mueller only by issuing a directive to Acting AG Rod Rosenstein. Here's why -- and why it really matters.

8/13/17  //  Commentary

Guest poster Eric Segall argues that Congress must act now to ensure that the President does not unilaterally commit an act of war without Congressional consent.

10/29/19  //  Commentary

The President does not have constitutional authority to withhold foreign aid that Congress has mandated by statute.

8/24/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

A promising way for Congress to check the Executive, as well as to enhance its own efficacy and public standing, is by promoting expertise in the executive branch

12/6/18  //  Uncategorized

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, the gang is re-united, and they discuss the Supreme Court motion contending that Matthew Whitaker was not legally appointed as Acting Attorney General. Listen now!

6/6/17  //  Commentary

By Allison Murphy: Given President Trump’s documented and acknowledged efforts to interfere with the independence of the FBI, the Senate should presume that could continue under a new FBI Director. It is therefore incumbent upon Senators to ensure that any Trump nominee for FBI Director commits to certain baseline aspects of independence and impartiality before any new nominee is confirmed. Here are 10 questions that require answers.

8/25/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

By Mark Graber: Congress has considerable tools to influence public policy. How effectively Congress may use those tools depends in part on the skill with which they are exercised, but also on more durable features of the times in which they are exercised.

4/7/17  //  Quick Reactions

Abbe Gluck explains that the Republicans’ win-at-all-costs strategy will almost certainly lead next to the end of the filibuster for legislation, not just nominations, which would fundamentally change the culture of the Senate and be a tragic loss for our democracy.

6/13/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Senator Risch asked Jim Comey whether a person has been charged for obstruction of justice or any other criminal offense, where they said or thought they hoped for an outcome. We hope he finds our research instructive.

12/21/18  //  Commentary

If congressional intent is the key to the Texas decision invalidating the Affordable Care Act, Congress can intervene. And the best way for it to do so is not to enter the litigation. It’s to legislate.

1/7/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

No, Congress doesn't have a duty to provide the resources necessary for the executive branch to adequately fulfill its constitutional functions.

5/25/17  //  Commentary

A response to Professor Solum’s comments on my posts about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

5/19/17  //  Commentary

The major constitutional challenge to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rests on the claim that the President of the United States does not have enough power over the agency.

8/7/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The bills to protect the special counsel from removal have some rough spots that can and should be worked out.

6/28/18  //  Commentary

After two special interview episodes of Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie get back to the usual format and talk about the leaked Dowd memo arguing that President should not be required to sit for an interview with the Special Counsel. Listen now!

8/28/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Here I respond to insightful comments on Congress's Constitution.

4/10/17  //  Commentary

The filibuster repeal itself is ultimately far less important than some deeper trends it reflects concerning partisanship, institutional norms, and the separation of powers in our constitutional order.

4/15/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

Here are the steps Congress can (and should) take to review the President's tax returns as expeditiously as possible

5/22/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

This two-part series explains why the CFPB’s purportedly novel structure is not a sign that the CFPB’s structure is unconstitutional.

8/23/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

By Victoria Nourse: It is one of the great paradoxes of American life that Americans love democracy but hate their most democratic institution, the Congress—that is, until they need Congress to fight a rogue President

5/11/17  //  Uncategorized

An organized guide to all Take Care coverage and analysis of President Trump's abrupt termination of FBI Director Comey

3/24/17  //  Quick Reactions

Last night, House Republicans released the text of the final manager’s amendment to the American Health Care Act. If it becomes law, the individual insurance market will likely collapse nationwide in 2018.

5/16/17  //  Commentary

Trump suggested in a recent signing statement that he could disregard an appropriations restriction on federal marijuana enforcement. But Trump is mistaken.

10/11/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie talk about the fight over Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross's potential testimony in an important lawsuit over the census. Listen now!

3/24/17  //  Quick Reactions

Hearings on President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Labor revealed little about the future of labor policy. But the hearings made crystal clear that Trump's executive orders and proposed budget threaten even popular and effective government programs.

6/8/17  //  Commentary

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Take Care's podcast, Easha, Jason, and Charlie discuss Congress's role and powers in investigations of the Executive. Then, Jason talks with Steven Wu, a Deputy Solicitor General in the Office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, about the case against Trump University, the active role of states in recent years, and other issues in which New York is adverse to the President. Listen now!

10/4/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

By David Gans: Will Justice Kennedy carve out a partisan redistricting exception from foundational First Amendment principles?

6/7/17  //  Quick Reactions

Jed Shugerman analyzes today's live testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

8/10/17  //  Commentary

President Trump threatened this week to launch "fire and fury like the world has never seen" against North Korea. That is not something the Constitution lets him do without Congress.

5/11/17  //  Commentary

The Presumption of Regularity, Like All Presumptions, Is Rebuttable, Not Conclusive Evidence

8/21/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

An introduction to the Take Care symposium on my new book, Congress's Constitution

8/23/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

By Kate Shaw: Congress must find new opportunities for successful engagement with the public, by both individual members and the body as a whole

6/21/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason talks about the past, present, and future of impeachment with Joshua Matz. Joshua is the publisher of Take Care and the co-author, with Laurence Tribe, of the acclaimed new book To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment. Listen now!

4/10/17  //  Commentary

When the President unilaterally decides that America will start killing people in foreign countries, the least we can expect is a sound justification for that action under domestic and international law. Yet Trump has yet to offer one.

8/24/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

By demonstrating the dangers of vesting so much power in one individual, will Trump bring about a revitalization of Congress and a corresponding diminution of the Presidency?

5/30/17  //  Commentary

President Trump's overseas trip has cast doubt on longstanding consensus features of U.S. foreign policy, particularly our commitment to NATO. Here are some ways Congress might respond.

7/27/17  //  Commentary

The Republicans Themselves Said It Would be Disastrous

4/5/17  //  Commentary

The upcoming budget fights will be ugly and brutal, but they implicate the most important practical means of constraining this president (or any other)—Congress’s power over appropriations. But the nature and limits of that power remain shockingly undefined.

5/17/17  //  Commentary

On today's two-part episode of Versus Trump, Take Care's podcast, we answer three burning questions related to whether the sitting President can face criminal charges, and how that prosecution could be started. We also have an interview with James Williams, the County Counsel for Santa Clara County, where he discusses his County's lawsuit against Trump Administration that has so far successfully prevented the Trump Administration from enforcing an executive order that would have withdrawn federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities.

8/22/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

By Julia Azari: Is Congress doomed to react to Trump, and to wallow in the political discourse he has created like a toddler in a soiled diaper? Or can members of Congress create their own counter-narratives about the meaning and stakes of policy and process?

3/16/17  //  Commentary

Justice Jackson's famous separation of powers framework offers no support for President Trump's entry ban. In fact, it's irrelevant.

6/21/17  //  Latest Developments

I recently wrote an open letter to Senator Ben Sasse regarding the American Health Care Act. Here's the conclusion.

3/27/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Partisan gerrymandering at its core is viewpoint discrimination pure and simple, and it cannot be squared with our Constitution’s promise that voters choose their representatives, not the other way around.

3/17/17  //  Commentary

President Obama pushed the limits of enforcement discretion. Trump may be worse. Will anyone check him if he is?

8/20/17  //  Daily Update

The relationship between the President and Congress has grown even more strained in the wake of the healthcare repeal failure.

6/18/17  //  Daily Update

The Senate Intelligence Committee will not investigate whether President Trump attempted to obstruct justice, leaving the inquiry to special counsel Robert Mueller. Questions remain about the legal basis for Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s refusal to answer questions before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

6/11/17  //  Daily Update

Despite the Republican majority, Democrats in Congress have important tools to oppose President Trump's policies.

5/7/17  //  Daily Update

The Senate passed a spending bill to avert government shutdown. Republican Senators criticized President Trump's rant against Senate rules.

4/23/17  //  Daily Update

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) writes that the NSA and U.S. Cyber commend should be split and the government released its annual FISA Court report.

3/26/17  //  Daily Update

Congress continued its investigations of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. One Representative argued that Congress should block the administration’s proposed budget cuts to the State Department.

4/16/17  //  Daily Update

Commentators continued to discuss the implications of the invocation of the "nuclear option" to confirm Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Trump's Supreme Court nominee.

8/6/17  //  Daily Update

The Senate confirmed several administration nominees, including Christopher Wray for FBI Director. Republican Senator Jeff Flake's new book publicly criticizes President Trump.

10/8/17  //  Daily Update

Republican senators showed an increasing willingness to break with President Trump in recent weeks.

7/16/17  //  Daily Update

The Senate Judiciary Committee began hearings for Christopher Wray, President Trump's nominee for FBI Director, and passed along four other nominees.

4/2/17  //  Daily Update

Rep. Devin Nunes, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, disclosed that he made a visit to the White House to view intelligence files regarding President Trump's wiretapping claims. Commentators argued that this disclosure makes it hard for Republicans to claim impartiality as they investigate Russian interference.

4/30/17  //  Daily Update

This week, a government shutdown loomed as President Trump proposed to condition funding for the increasingly-popular ACA on funding for the border wall.