Photo of Kevin Kosar

Kevin Kosar

Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute

Kevin Kosar is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author most recently of Congress Overwhelmed: Congressional Capacity and Prospects for Reform (2020).

Formerly he was vice president of research partnerships for the R Street Institute. He cofounded the non-partisan Legislative Branch Capacity Working Group, which aims to strengthen Congress, and created LegBranch.org. 

Kevin joined R Street in October 2014 from the Congressional Research Service, where he served as analyst and research manager. Earlier in his career, he was lecturer in policy and public administration at New York University and Metropolitan College of New York.

Kevin received his doctorate in politics from New York University and his bachelor’s from Ohio State University. He lives in Washington, D.C.

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Our Overwhelmed Congress

December 7, 2020
Something remarkable happened this spring—Congress’s public approval rose to 31 percent. If that sounds like little to celebrate, bear in mind that the percentage of Americans… Read More
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The line between government communication and propaganda.

October 12, 2020
(This piece by Kevin Kosar and John Maxwell Hamilton originally appeared in Politico.) Three hundred million dollars — that’s how much the Trump Administration … Read More
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Podcast: Presidential powers, and why Robert Jackson matters

September 3, 2020
Louis Fisher. Source: University of Kansas Press. In this LegBranch.org podcast, Kevin Kosar of the American Enterprise Institute speaks with Dr. Louis Fisher about his new article on presidential… Read More
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Podcast: Getting rid of the filibuster?

August 31, 2020
Could it happen? How would it happen? And what exactly is meant by “getting rid of it”? Listen to a discussion about the filibuster between Brookings Institution’s Molly Reynolds and… Read More
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Review: A Case for the American People: The United States v. Donald J. Trump by Norman Eisen

August 26, 2020
This book offers important insights into the unsuccessful effort of House Democrats to impeach and remove Donald Trump.  Norman Eisen previously served as the White House special counsel for ethics… Read More
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Podcast: Interview with the Chairmen of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress

August 25, 2020
Listen: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/fedtalk/2020/08/making-congress-modern/ FEDTalk interviewed Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress co-chairs, Derek Kilmer (D, WA) and Tom Graves (R, GA), along with Daniel Schuman (Demand Progress) and… Read More
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LegBranch.org gets a new editor – Lauren Rollins

August 24, 2020
Lauren Rollins of the R Street Institute takes over the editorship of Legbranch.org effective today (August 24, 2020). Lauren joined R Street in 2017 and has been the Director of… Read More
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Book review: Julian Zelizer on the rise of Newt Gingrich

August 20, 2020
Julian Zelizer, Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, The Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party (Penguin, 2020) Philip Wallach, for LegBranch.org The Princeton… Read More
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Congress and foreign affairs: Reasserting the power of the first branch

August 19, 2020
Article I of the U.S. Constitution assigns Congress many significant authorities over foreign policy. The legislature may “regulate commerce with foreign nations,” and “define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed… Read More
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Video: Congress vs. Courts: An Article I Debate | Spotlight on Freedom

August 18, 2020
In a special Article I Coalition debate, scholars from the R Street Institute, Cato Institute, and Heritage Foundation discuss the proper role of Congress versus the role of the courts… Read More