Politics, Moderate
/Politics
Elon Musk Discovers That Serious Spending Cuts Are 'Really Difficult': As He Shifts His Focus Away From DOGE, He Acknowledges the Need for Hard Choices and Congressional Action
As recently as March 27, Elon Musk was still confident that the Department of Government Efficiency, the cost-cutting initiative he unofficially headed, could reduce annual federal spending by $1 trillion. But during a Cabinet meeting two weeks later, Musk projected that the savings in fiscal year 2026, when DOGE sunsets, would be more like $...Read more
Trump's Tariffs Usurp the Legislature's Tax Power: The President's Far-Reaching Sweeping Import Levies Have No Basis in the Statute He Cites
Watching the stock market fluctuate wildly in response to President Donald Trump's constantly changing tariff plans, you might wonder why the framers would have given a single man so much authority over the U.S. economy. The short answer: They never did, and neither did Congress.
The Constitution vests Congress, not the president, with the ...Read more
Trump's Actions Contradict His Avowed Commitment to First Amendment Rights: The President Has Launched a Multifaceted Crusade Against Speech That Offends Him
On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at "restoring freedom of speech." But judging from his administration's policies and his actions as a private litigant, Trump's commitment to that principle is highly selective at best.
Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that he was "...Read more
Trump Says Alleged Gang Members Don't Need Hearings Because the Government Is Infallible: The Supreme Court Unanimously Rejected That Claim, Upholding the Right to Due Process in Deportation Cases
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, says all the migrants whom the Trump administration sent to a notorious prison in El Salvador last month are "actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gangsters and more," even if they "don't have a rap sheet in the U.S." She adds that "we have a stringent law ...Read more
Mel Gibson Got His Gun Rights Back, but Millions of Americans With No History of Violence Are Still Waiting: The Movie Star's Special Treatment Highlights the Injustice of an Illogical Federal Law
Like millions of Americans, Mel Gibson has a criminal record that disqualifies him from legally owning a gun. Unlike nearly all of those people, the movie star, whom President Donald Trump has designated as one of his three "ambassadors" to Hollywood, will be relieved of that disability, thanks to a recent decision by Attorney General Pam ...Read more
The Logical Contradictions of Trump's Case for Tariffs: Taxes on Imports Cannot Possibly Deliver All the Benefits the President Is Promising
Tariffs "will always be the best way to max out our economic power," President Donald Trump declared during his first term, predicting that his trade war would "MAKE AMERICA RICH AGAIN." Not rich enough, apparently, because Trump is still touting the magic of tariffs, which he says will "pay off our debt" and "MAKE AMERICA WEALTHY AGAIN!"
...Read more
Texas A&M's Drag Ban Shows the Threat to Campus Free Speech Is Bipartisan: Conservatives Are Picking Up the Unconstitutional Weapons That Intolerant Progressives Have Deployed Against Them
This week a federal judge stepped in to save a student-sponsored drag show at Texas A&M University. The need for that intervention shows that efforts to control on-campus speech, long decried by conservatives who complained of censorship by intolerant progressives, are a bipartisan phenomenon.
Men have been dressing as women in theatrical ...Read more
Trump Is Explicitly Targeting Legal Residents Based on Opinions They Express: The Rationale for Deporting Mahmoud Khalil Is Chillingly Vague and Broad
Although Mahmoud Khalil is a legal permanent resident of the United States, the Trump administration says, he is "subject to removal" because Secretary of State Marco Rubio "has determined" that his "presence or activities" would "have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences." That vague rationale, which alludes to Khalil's ...Read more
Republicans May Regret Undermining Judicial Independence: Threats to Impeach Federal Judges Who Rule Against the Government Are a Naked Attack on Their Constitutionally Crucial Function
Under the U.S. Constitution, federal judges "hold their Offices during good Behaviour" and receive salaries that "shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office." Like other "civil Officers of the United States," they can be removed from office by Congress only if they are impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate of "...Read more
Mexico Aims to Reshape the US Firearm Industry by Suing Gun Makers: The Supreme Court Will Decide Whether That Threat to the Second Amendment Is Legally Viable
President Donald Trump, who imposed punitive tariffs on Mexico this week, complains that our southern neighbor is not doing enough to stop illegal drugs from crossing the border. Mexico has a similar complaint about the United States and guns, as reflected in a case that the Supreme Court heard on the same day the tariffs took effect.
...Read more
The FTC Has No Business Trying to Make Sure Social Media Are 'Fair': Chairman Andrew Ferguson's Assault on 'Big Tech Censorship' Aims to Override Constitutionally Protected Decisions
Many Americans, including me, have had frustrating experiences with content moderation on social media platforms. Andrew Ferguson, the Trump-appointed chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, wants us to know that such experiences are not just annoying or perplexing; they are "un-American" and "potentially illegal."
Ferguson, who began ...Read more
Trump Has Good Reason to Complain About Limits on His Ability to Fire Executive Officers: His Position Is Grounded in Concerns About the Separation of Powers That Presidents of Both Parties Have Raised for Many Years
President Donald Trump likes to fire people, and he resents congressional constraints on that presidential prerogative. While Trump's opponents may view that attitude as one more manifestation of his autocratic instincts, his complaint is grounded in legitimate concerns about the separation of powers that presidents of both parties have raised...Read more
The DOGE Bait and Switch: The Pretend Department's Downgraded Mission Reflects the Gap Between Trump's Promise of 'Smaller Government' and the Reality of What Can Be Achieved Without New Legislation
Donald Trump's much-ballyhooed Department of Government Efficiency does not actually exist. The program's official status is more significant than it might seem, because it reflects the yawning gap between the president's promises of fiscal restraint and the reality of what can be accomplished without new legislation.
Billionaire entrepreneur...Read more
Related Channels
Danny Tyree
By Danny Tyree
Jessica Johnson
By Jessica Johnson
Joe Guzzardi
By Joe Guzzardi
Tom Purcell
By Tom Purcell
Comics
