Article II
Executive Branch: President, not a King (Federalist Arguments)
American presidents act almost like elected kings, with vast powers and very little accountability. But that wasn’t the plan. Responding to anti-federalist warnings that presidents would eventually degenerate into a type of monarchy, Federalists like Tench Coxe, John...
Are (Most) Independent Agencies Unconstitutional after Seila Law v. CFPB?
I think maybe they are. On its face, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau looks modest. The Court (per Chief Justice Roberts, joined by Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh) declined to extend the rule...
Can the President “Send Congress Away”?
Can the president simply shut down Congress on a whim? Some people think he has this power. As one commenter put it in a Facebook post, “Article 2 Section 3 during extraordinary circumstances the president can send Congress away.” This demonstrates how...
Some Impeachment Conundrums
If nothing else, the impeachment proceedings have encouraged us to think about some interesting hypotheticals. Here are a few: 1. Can former Presidents be impeached? Leading originalist-oriented blogger Keith Whittington says yes. But I am not so sure. The...