Trump And Vance Aren’t Defying The Constitution, They’re Following It
Democrats and pundits have exaggerated Vice President J.D. Vance’s remarks into a ‘constitutional crisis.’
Under the Constitution, “the President is invested with certain important political powers, in the exercise of which he is to use his own discretion.” For his decisions, “he is accountable only to his country in his political character, and to his own conscience.” His choices cannot be questioned in court because “the subjects are political. They respect the nation, not individual rights, and being entrusted to the executive, the decision of the executive is conclusive.”
Who penned these outrageous words? Democrats and many pundits might answer Vice President J.D. Vance. Over the weekend, Vance provoked an onslaught of criticism for suggesting that federal district judges “aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”
But the usual suspects would be wrong. The right answer is John Marshall, the greatest chief justice in Supreme Court history. And he did not squirrel this view away in a private journal. Instead, Marshall publicly explained that courts could not review presidential decisions on “political” subjects “entrusted to the executive” in a Supreme Court opinion.
Constitutionalism
Rational Judicial Review: Constitutions as Power-sharing Agreements, Secession, and the Problem of Dred Scott
Judicial review and originalism serve as valuable commitment mechanisms to enforce future compliance with a political bargain.
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Amicus Brief: Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish
Civitas Research Fellow Michael Toth's work was cited in a Supreme Court brief.
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Why Trump’s ‘Emergency’ Tariffs Won’t Fly
The trade deficit isn’t a sudden surprise, short in duration, and great in harm: the usual characteristics of an emergency.
Democracy in Britain: The Lords’ Work
Part 2: How the “hereditary peers” enhance lawmaking and support the soft power of the UK.
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Humphrey’s Executor and the Future of Presidential Power
The U.S. Supreme Court is almost certain to hold that President Trump lawfully fired Rebecca Slaughter from her role as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission.
