by jpitney | Oct 8, 2025 | Congress, House of Representatives, Separation of Powers
Jay Cost at AEI: By centralizing authority so heavily, the United States has rejected a fundamental governing principle upon which it was originally founded: the separation of powers. As the French philosopher Montesquieu wrote in The Spirit of the Laws, a work that...
by jpitney | Aug 7, 2025 | Congress, Presidency, Separation of Powers
Philip A. Wallach at Law & Liberty: We should dispassionately take stock of Congress’s current position on foreign and domestic policy, on taxing and spending, and on the deeper question of what role our elected representatives play in our Constitutional system....
by jpitney | Jul 18, 2025 | Military, Presidency, Separation of Powers
Don Wolfensberger: As we have relearned recently, members are reluctant to go against presidents of their own party, and minority party opposition, while expected, seldom has legs. Presidents since Nixon have uniformly ignored or denounced the War Powers Resolution...
by jpitney | Mar 21, 2025 | Congress, Oversight, Separation of Powers
Don Wolfensberger at The Hill: Restoring trust in Congress will take a concerted effort over time to move overly zealous executive officials back into their proper constitutional boxes. To restore trust in Congress requires that Congress first regain trust in itself....
by jpitney | Feb 27, 2025 | Appropriations, Congress, Constitution, Elections, Separation of Powers, Transparency, Volunteering
Greg Ip at WSJ: Appropriations bills aren’t glamorous. But they are the one chance Congress gets each year to evaluate and direct the executive branch, said Eloise Pasachoff, a law professor at Georgetown University. “That’s why appropriations laws are thousands of...
by jpitney | Feb 16, 2025 | Congress, Presidency, Separation of Powers, Transparency, Volunteering
Don Wolfensberger at The Hill: It is clear from the Trump-Musk blitz that the president wanted to swiftly impose his will through executive orders before the courts and Congress could catch-up and reverse them. Musk’s DOGE team serves as a “heat shield” for the...
