Donald Trump
Graham Platner’s campaign implosion highlights the hollowness of America’s political parties and how they can be hijacked by insurgents
Graham Platner’s Senate campaign has imploded amid credible accusations of rape. A Maine political scientist looks at what happened and how the populist Platner resembles Donald Trump in key ways.
Justice Jackson’s birthright citizenship opinion includes Black Americans in the story of the nation’s search for equality
Jackson’s concurrence traces the 14th Amendment to work done by people ‘beyond Congress’ and Black Americans who ‘helped galvanize the push for full equality.’
From Belfast to Washington, a familiar script of the ‘dangerous migrant’ has emerged
In many cases, a single, shocking crime allegedly involving a foreign-born suspect was quickly reframed into a broader indictment of minorities.
‘In the end the court did its job’ – a former federal judge reviews a Supreme Court term full of momentous decisions
A former federal judge analyzes key Supreme Court decisions this term, reflects on growing judicial invective evident in its opinions, and judiciously gives praise for some great writing.
In rebuke to Trump, Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship, emphasizing the promise of equality in the Declaration of Independence
Pointing to the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment, the high court ruled that all babies born in the United States ‘are citizens by birth.’
Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. Slaughter turbocharges presidential power
The high court’s ruling effectively endorses the unitary executive theory, greatly expanding the power of the president.
Washington DC’s physical appearance has long been a battleground for competing national ideals and presidential visions
President Donald Trump’s capital redesign follows centuries of debate and discussion about how Washington should look to the world.
Why thousands of federal lawyers leaving government service matters for everyone in the justice system
More than 10,000 attorneys who worked for the US government have left their jobs during the second Trump administration; a former federal judge analyzes the impact of that exodus.
The danger of US‑Iran ceasefire agreement is what it leaves out
A strong deal would build in real penalties for going back to war: automatic, reversible costs that fall on anyone who restarts the fighting.
Refugee numbers dropped in 2025 – but aid cuts and others trends suggest little to celebrate
The drop in funding has also led donors to prioritize the trend of using aid to control the movement of people – over their needs.