Filter Content

Congress needs to curb presidential power. Here’s how it can start to.

December 18, 2020  ·  William Gray
George Will writes in the Washington Post about the powers and responsibilities vested in the House and Senate as well as recommendations for strengthening the bodies from the Select… Read More

More than 30 groups call on the House to re-establish the modernization committee

November 17, 2020  ·  William Gray
In a letter to leaders on Capitol Hill, a coalition of 38 organizations and 16 experts on Congress, including former members of Congress, called on the U.S. House to… Read More

Forget ghostly apparitions…the Senate has disappeared!

November 2, 2020  ·  James Wallner
In the wake of America’s scariest holiday and on the eve of what promises to be a contentious election, many people think Americans have a lot to be scared about. Read More

How should the United States select its judges?

October 19, 2020  ·  William Gray
In this week’s episode of Politics In Question, Judith Resnik joins Julia, Lee, and James to consider how a democracy should select its judges. Judith is the Arthur… Read More

End confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominees

October 13, 2020  ·  William Gray
In USA Today, Ilya Shapiro, director of the Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute, makes the case for ending Supreme Court confirmation hearings for… Read More

Norms, Precedents and Senate Confirmation

October 2, 2020  ·  Joshua Huder
The Supreme Court vacancy created by Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing has thrust the Senate’s constitutional confirmation function into an already chaotic 2020 election cycle. Senate Majority Leader McConnell appears… Read More

ICYMI: Members of Congress have lost control over spending

September 30, 2020  ·  Molly E. Reynolds
(This piece originally appeared in the Washington Post.) The Constitution affords Congress the “power of the purse”: “No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in Consequence of Appropriations… Read More

Twelve Ways to Find Dirt in “Clean” Appropriations Bills

September 29, 2020  ·  James Wallner
(This piece originally appeared in Legislative Procedure.) If Congress does not act soon, funding for approximately one-third of the Federal government will expire on Thursday, at the end of… Read More

Members of Congress are specializing less often. That makes them less effective.

September 28, 2020  ·  William Gray
In a new op-ed for the Washington Post, Craig Volden and Alan Wiseman make the case that Congress needs more expertise – and explain how to encourage changing that… Read More

Can the Senate Confirm a Supreme Court Nominee Before Election Day?

September 24, 2020  ·  Anthony Marcum
President Trump recently announced that he would name a nominee to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg this Saturday, leaving 38 days… Read More